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Interactive storytelling ; 1st Joint International Conference on interactive digital storytelling, ICIDS 2008 Erfurt, Germany, November 26-29, 2008 Proceedings

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First Joint International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling, ICIDS 2008, held in Erfurt, Germany, in November 2008.The 19 revised full papers, 5 revised short papers, and 5 poster papers presented together with 3 invited lectures and 8 demo papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 62 submission. The papers are organized in topical sections on future perspectives on interactive digital storytelling, interactive storytelling applications, virtual characters and agents, user experience and dramatic immersion, architectures for story generation, models for drama management and interacting with stories, as well as authoring and creation of interactive narrative.

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Immunogenetics of Autoimmune Disease

Utoimmunity is the downstream outcome of a rather extensive and coordinated series of events that include loss of self-tolerance, peripheral lymphocyte Aactivation, disruption of the blood-systems barriers, cellular infiltration into the target organs and local inflammation. Cytokines, adhesion molecules, growth factors, antibodies, and other molecules induce and regulate critical cell functions that perpetuate inflammation, leading to tissue injury and clinical phenotype. The nature and intensity of this response as well as the physiological ability to restore homeostasis are to a large extent conditioned by the unique amino acid sequences that define allelic variants on each of the numerous participating mol­ ecules. Therefore, the coding genes in their germline configuration play a primary role in determining who is at risk for developing such disorders, how the disease progresses, and how someone responds to therapy. Although genetic components in these diseases are clearly present, the lack of obvious and homogeneous modes of transmission has slowed progress by prevent­ ing the full exploitation of classical genetic epidemiologic techniques. Furthermore, autoimmune diseases are characterized by modest disease risk heritability and m- tifaceted interactions with environmental influences. Yet, several recent discoveries have dramatically changed our ability to examine genetic variation as it relates to human disease. In addition to the development of large-scale laboratory methods and tools to efficiently recognize and catalog DNA diversity, over the past few years there has been real progress in the application of new analytical and data-manage­ ment approaches

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Imaging for Detection and Identification

The dynamic interaction between world-renowned scientists from the usually disparate communities of pure mathematicians and applied sci- tists which occurred at our seven previous ASI’s continued at this meeting. The fusion of basic ideas in mathematics, radar, sonar, biology, and ch- istry with ongoing improvements in hardware and computation offers the promise of much more sophisticated and accurate detection and identi?cation capabilities than currently exist. Coupled with the dramatic rise in the need for surveillance in innumerable aspects of our daily lives, brought about by hostile acts deemed unimaginable only a few short years ago, the time is ripe for image processing scientists in these usually diverse ?elds to join together in a concerted effort to combat the new brands of terrorism. This ASI was one important initial step.

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How to Organize Yourself : Simple Ways to Take Control, Save Time and Work More Efficiently

How to Organize Yourself will help you to dramatically improve the way you work. With great tips on how to determine your goals, prioritize your tasks and manage your time, it also includes practical advice on how to: focus on the things that produce results; overcome distractions; build positive work habits; avoid information overload and make effective use of technology.

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High-Energy-Density Physics : Fundamentals, Inertial Fusion, and Experimental Astrophysics

The raw numbers of high-energy-density physics are amazing: shock waves at hundreds of km/s (approaching a million km per hour), temperatures of millions of degrees, and pressures that exceed 100 million atmospheres. This book introduces the reader to the fundamental tools and discoveries of high-energy-density physics. It surveys the production of high-energy-density conditions, the fundamental plasma and hydrodynamic models that can describe them and the problem of scaling from the laboratory to the cosmos. Connections to astrophysics are discussed throughout. The book is intended to support coursework in high-energy-density physics, to meet the needs of new researchers in this field, and also to serve as a useful reference on the fundamentals. Specifically the book has been designed to enable academics in physics, astrophysics, applied physics and engineering departments to provide in a single-course introduction to fluid mechanics and radiative transfer, with dramatic applications in the field of high-energy-density systems.

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High performance embedded architectures and compilers ; 1st International Conference, HiPEAC 2005, Barcelona, Spain, November 17-18, 2005, Proceedings

The ProgramCommittee received a total of 84 submissions; only 17 were selected for presentation as full-length papers and another one as an invited paper. Each paper was rigorously reviewed by three ProgramCommittee members and at least one external referee. Many reviewers spent a great amount of e?ort to provide detailed feedback. In many cases, such feedback along with constructive shepherding resulted in dramatic improvement in the quality of accepted papers. The names of the Program Committee m- bers and the referees are listed in the proceedings. The net result of this team e?ort is that the symposium proceedings include outstanding contributions by authors from nine countries in three continents. In addition to paper presentations, this ?rst HiPEAC conference featured two keynotes delivered by prominent researchers from industry and academia.

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Heaven Upon Earth : Joseph Mede (1586-1638) and the Legacy of Millenarianism

THE HISTORY OF BRITISHAPOCALYPTICTHOUGHT The study of early modern Britain between the Reformation of the 1530s and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of the 1640s has undergone a series of historiographical revisions. The dramatic events during that century were marked by a religious struggle that produced a Protestant nation, divided internally, yet clearly opposed to Rome. Likewise the political environment instilled a sense of responsible awareness regarding the administration of the realm and the defense 1 of constitutional liberty. Whig Historians from the nineteenth century described 2 these changes as a “Puritan Revolution.”

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Handbook on Interactive Storytelling

You will find a comprehensive discussion of the latest research covering the creation of interactive narratives that allow users to experience a dramatically compelling story that responds directly to their actions and choices. Readers will also enjoy: A thorough introduction to interactive storytelling, including discussions of narrative, plot, story, interaction, and a history of the phenomenon, from improvisational theory to role-playing games A rigorous discussion of the background of storytelling, from Aristotle’s Poetics to Joseph Campbell and the hero’s journey Compelling explorations of different perspectives in the interactive storytelling space, including different platforms, designers, and interactors, as well as an explanation of storyworlds

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Handbook of employment discrimination research : Rights and realities

This volume contains acollection of original papersbyleadinglegal scholars and social scientists that develop new perspectivesonanti-discriminationlaw, with anemphasison employment discrimination. The volume is introduced by three papers that broadly an-alyze anti-discriminationlaw andits relationshiptoexisting socialscience. we write as lawyer-sociologists attemptingto advance a socio-legalunderstanding of employment discrimination law. We examine the debate amongcom-petingconceptions of the anti-discrimination law which argue that the law has becometoo expansive, is too weak, or is too reliant on litigation. After review in gdoctrinal developments in the law and trends in claiming behavior before the EEOC and the federal courts through the 1990s to present, we apply the concept of the pyramid ofdisputes to discrimination claims to assess the ongoingdebate. Although the analysis demonstrates that there are significant gaps in our knowledge of how employment dis-crimination claims arise and are dealt with, it also suggests that the current system isdramatically under-inclusive of potentialclaimants.

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Group 13 Chemistry I : Fundamental New Developments

Depending on the use of the elements, the resulting work can be described under any heading of chemistry. The group 13 elements have been special in this regard due to the very unique characters of the constituent elements. Thus, there is a dramatic change in the properties of the elements when proceeding through the series, B, A1, Ga, In, T1. This difference is one of the main reasons why these elements have seen, and continue to see, such widespread usage in such disparate applications as organic synthesis, electronic and structural materials, and catalysis, to name but a few.

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Global Production : A Handbook for Strategy and Implementation

What is the best configuration for a global production network? What are the different dynamics in low-cost vs. high-cost countries? Getting the answers right is key to building a competitive and efficient global production network. Centers of economic activity are shifting profoundly, globally and even regionally. Production is shifting even more dramatically than the economy as a whole, making it critical for decision makers to know what criteria matter most and how to make the right decisions on where to invest. Regardless of the industry involved, an optimized global footprint can translate to a competitive advantage. A comprehensive redesign typically yields a 20 to 40 percent reduction in manufacturing costs. Global production and purchasing operations create a platform for entry into new markets. Planning and implementing a sustainable globalization strategy, however, takes considerable effort; this book is there to help in that task.

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Geschichte des Husserl-Archivs Leuven History

This short History of the Husserl-Archives offers a fascinating view on the foundation and development of this important research institute and of the Husserliana edition. Father Van Breda’s personal annotations, which are made public for the first time in English here, paint a captivating picture of the rescue of Husserl’s manuscripts and the foundation of the Archives shortly before the second world war. The overview of the further history of the Archives by Thomas Vongehr concentrates on the history of the editorial work and its reception. These two texts present not only a historical account but explain the scientific goals and tasks of the Husserl-Archives and its research.

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Geological Approaches to Coral Reef Ecology

By reconstructing the ecological history of coral reefs, the authors are able to evaluate whether or not recent, dramatic changes to reef ecosystems are novel events or part of a long-term trend or cycle. The contributions examine the interacting causes of change, which include hurricane damage, regional outbreaks of coral-consuming predators, disease epidemics, sea-level rise, nutrient loading, global warming and acidification of the oceans. Crucial predictions about the future of coral reefs lead to practical strategies for the successful restoration and management of reef ecosystems.

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Genetic Engineering of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

MSC (mesenchymal stem cells) have been reported to initiate revascularization after injury, to facilitate engraftment of blood-forming stem cells, and to reduce the incidence of graft-vs. host disease through their immune-suppressive qualities. Finally, bone marrow-derived MSC have been reported to home to areas of solid tumor revascularization, and thus may be used as delivery vehicles to target ablative agents into dividing tumor cells. Recently the characteristics of human MSC from adipose (fat) tissue have also been identified. The possibility of repairing tissues, speeding stem cell engraftment, and targeting solid tumors for specific killing, using MSC easily harvested from bone marrow, or better yet, from unwanted fat tissue, holds broad appeal, and is an intriguing possibility that could have dramatic effect on health care. This book has information on how to isolate, grow, and characterize MSC from marrow and fat, and gives important insight into how these cells may be used for gene delivery and cellular therapies in the future. Updates on emerging clinical trials are given.

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Future-Oriented Technology Analysis : Strategic Intelligence for an Innovative Economy

The application of foresight to address the challenges of uncertainty and rapid change has grown dramatically in the past decade. In that period, the techniques have been greatly refined and the scope has been broadened to encompass future-oriented technology analysis (FTA) and more recently, the concept and practice of strategic intelligence. FTA addresses directly the longer-term future through the active and continuous development of visions, and pathways to realise these visions. It is increasingly seen as a valuable management and policy tool complementing, and extending further into the future, classical strategy, planning, and decision-making approaches.

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Future Spacecraft Propulsion Systems : Enabling Technologies for Space Exploration

In Future Spacecraft Propulsion Systems the authors demonstrate the need to break free from the old established concepts of expendable rockets, using chemical propulsion, and to develop new breeds of launch vehicle capable of both launching payloads into orbit at dramatically reduced cost, and for sustained operations in low-Earth orbit. The next steps, they explain, to establishing a permanent "presence" in the solar system beyond Earth are the commercialisation of sustained operations on the Moon, and the development of advanced nuclear or high-energy space propulsion systems for solar system exploration out to the boundary of interstellar space. In the future, high-energy particle research facilities may one day yield a very high-energy propulsion system that will take us to the nearby stars, or even beyond. This is a timely and comprehensive book, putting spacecraft propulsion systems in perspective.

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Frontiers of Computational Science ; Proceedings of the International Symposium on Frontiers of Computational Science 2005

With the dramatic increase in speed and capacity of modern computers, computational approaches are becoming of crucial importance in various fields of science and engineering. Computational science is the interdisciplinary science, which promotes systematic development of methodologies and framework of computational approaches, basic studies of algorithms and soft-computation technologies and vast areas of applications. This volume is the proceedings of International Symposium on Frontiers of Computational Science 2005, containing papers from 7 plenary and keynote lecturers, 17 invited lecturers and 33 contributed papers. This book discusses the high-level use of computers in a wide variety of areas such as fluid mechanics, material and genome sciences.

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From parity violation to hadronic structure and more : Refereed and selected contributions from Grenoble, France, June 8-11, 2004

Almost 50 years after the proposal of Lee and Young in 1956 to test the hypothesis of parity violation in weak interactions and the subsequent experimental verification of parity violation by C. S. Wu, parity violation has today become a useful property of weak interactions. This is due to the fact that the focus nowadays has changed: parity violation in weak interactions is no more a topic of investigation but is used as a tool in many different fields ranging from nuclear physics to the search for the hidden extra dimensions requested by string theory. For our first workshop which took place June 5-8, 2002, at the Institut fiir Ke- physik of the Johannes Gutenberg-Universitat Mainz, we concentrated on the in­ vestigation of the strangeness contribution in the nucleon. This book contains the refereed and selected papers of the second workshop "From Parity Violation to Hadron Structure and more (Part II)", which took place June 8-11, in the Labo- toire de Physique Subatomique et de Cosmologie, in Grenoble. These papers appear in EPJAdirect, the electronic-only part of EPJA, and they are accessible without restrictions. They will also appear in printed form and can be ordered through Springer. The excellent presentations show the dramatic and steady progress in the accuracy of measured parity violating asymmetries over the last few years.

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Free-Radical-Induced DNA Damage and Its Repair : A Chemical Perspective

Understanding of the molecular basis of DNA damage and its repair has increased dramatically in recent years, and substantial knowledge now exists concerning the products arising from free-radical attack on DNA. Free-radical DNA damage may lead to mutations, cancer, and cell death. Free radicals have various sources, notably ionizing radiation and oxidative stress. In radiotherapy for cancer and with some anticancer drugs, use is made of cell death by excessive DNA damage. The mechanisms leading to products of free-radical attack which have been studied in models and with small double-stranded DNA fragments are discussed in detail, and the basics of the underlying free-radical chemistry are dealt with in separate chapters.

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Fast, Efficient and Predictable Memory Accesses : Optimization Algorithms for Memory Architecture Aware Compilation

Fast, Efficient and Predictable Memory Accesses presents techniques for designing fast, energy-efficient and timing predictable memory systems. By using a careful combination of compiler optimizations and architectural improvements, we can achieve more than what would be feasible at one of the levels in isolation. The described optimization algorithms achieve the goals of high performance and low energy consumption. In addition to these benefits, the use of scratchpad memories significantly improves the timing predictability of the entire system, leading to tighter worst case execution time bounds (WCET). The WCET is a relevant design parameter for all timing critical systems. In addition, the book covers algorithms to exploit the power down modes of main memories in SDRAM technology, as well as the execute-in-place feature of Flash memories. The final chapter considers the impact of the register file, which is also part of the memory hierarchy.

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