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I am deeply grateful to Ravi Kanbur, who initiated the Q-Squared initiative, and invited me to join on. The momentum in favour of mixed method analysis of poverty over the past decade has been highly influenced by Ravi’s efforts. In the absence of such, this book would not exist. I am also extremely appreciative of the support provided by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC),…
This book deals with the notion of “risk” and is devoted to analysis of risks in finance and insurance. We will study risks associated with financial and insurance contracts, by which we understand risks to be uncertainties that may result in financial loss and affect the ability to make payments associ- ated with the corresponding contracts. Our approach to this analysis is based on the …
This is my second book on the subject of road lighting. The first, also titled “Road Lighting”, appeared in 1980 in the series “Philips Technical Library” published by Kluwer, with co-author Prof. J.B. de Boer. Since that time, the technology of road lighting has progressed to keep up with the changes in lamp and lighting technology, in traffic and automobile technology, and especially …
In this monograph, we analyse thin tubular structures, so-called “graph-like spaces”, and their natural limits, when the radius of a graph-like space tends to zero. The limit space is typically a metric graph, i.e. a graph, where each edge is associated a length, and therefore, the space turns into a one-dimensional manifold with singularities at the vertices. On both, the graph-like spaces…
The thematic program on Discrete Geometry and Applications took place at the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences in Toronto between July 1 and December 31, 2011. The papers included in this book are based on some research conducted during the semester and on some of the lectures there, in particular those related to the part of the program under the heading “Rigidity and Sy…
Marketing is an activity and process in a market context. Thus most people will agree that marketing and markets are connected, both in theory and in practice. However, the title of this book, ‘Reconnecting Marketing to Markets’, suggests that not only has there been a disconnection in academic research sometime in the past but also that the editors and authors entertain ideas about a possi…
Mobile communications offer wireless connectivity that enables mobility and com- puting in diverse communication environments. The large demands from social markets are driving the growing development of mobile communications more rapidly than ever before. Consequently, a large set of new advanced techniques has emerged, brought about by a larger bandwidth, more powerful processing capabil- ity…
This book has been \vritten as a companion to support you throughout your Psychology International AS and A Level course. The book is divided into two parts: one for the AS Level and one for the A Level 1he AS part \Viii guide you through all 20 Core Studies and the A level part \Viii guide you th rough the t\vO options you have chosen to study (fro1n the five available). 111ere are a range…
This book focuses on the management of information security in next generation networks from the viewpoint of a telecommunications service provider, commercial enterprise or any other type of networked organization as a governance issue that needs to follow the “Plan, Do, Check and Act” approach promulgated by W. Edwards Deming and captured in ISO Standard 27001 as it applies to the manag…
This book is essentially based on the lecture course on “Statistical Physics”, which was taught by the author at the physical faculty of the Ural State University in Ekater- inburg since 1992. This course was intended for all physics students, not especially for those specializing in theoretical physics. In this sense the material presented here contains the necessary minimum of knowledge o…
In the Tate Modern there is a version of Auguste Rodin’s The Kiss (1901–4) which can be seen on the cover of this book. A couple emerges from the block of marble in a rapturous embrace, the meeting of their lips deliberately concealed from the viewer. The woman leans into the embrace, turning and pulling the man down. Her leg presses over his thigh, gently prising his legs apart, whilst h…
In the context of decision-making in committees, equation (
This book is intended for one or two courses on basic electric circuits as well as the “Circuits and Signals” course, CE-CSG, described in the Body of Knowledge of the IEEE/ACM. It differs from other textbooks in its coverage, organization, and presentation, which strongly emphasize fundamentals and stresses creative problem solving. By emphasis on funda- mentals I mean: (1) being comprehen…
On July 23, 2009, as the preparations for this collection were nearing completion, Raymond Westbrook, the W. W. Spence Professor of Semitic Languages in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University, passed away. We had been contemplating the production of these volumes for some time and began work on them in earnest about one year ago, spurred in part by the progression of…
Traditional security mechanisms restrict access to authorized users only, in order to protect resources from malicious users. However, in many con- texts, we must protect ourselves from those who offer resources, so that the problem is in fact reversed. This improper usage cannot be addressed by traditional security mechanisms, and the issues relate more to trustworthiness than security. Trus…
This strikes me as a particularly apt description of how science proceeds on a day-to-day basis. It is certainly more accurate than the more common metaphor of scientists patiently piecing together a giant puzzle. With a puzzle you see the manufacturer has guaranteed there is a solution. I know that this view of the scientific process—feeling around in dark rooms, bumping into unidentifiable…
How do you define success? For some, success is a high-paying job, promotions, and financial security. For others, success is finding a rewarding balance between work and personal time. Regardless of how you define success or what your personal goals are, we wrote this text with one purpose: To help you succeed not only in today’s competitive business world, but also in your personal life. A…
This series of guidebooks draws on the practical knowledge that the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®) has generated, since its inception in 1970, through its research and educational activity conducted in partnership with hundreds of thousands of managers and executives. Much of this knowledge is shared—in a way that is distinct from the typical university department, professional associ…
Enterprises throughout the ages have always had to deal with processes of change. The invention of printing with movable type almost wholly superseded the medi- eval business model of—usually monastic—scriptoria in the space of just a few decades. Change, therefore, is not a modern phenomenon. Yet what is new is the number and growth of influencing factors that now determine business action…
It is difficult to overstate the importance of computer net- works and cybersecurity in today’s world. They have become such an integral part of our existence that only a moment’s reflection is required to delineate the many ways in which they impact essentially every aspect of our lives. For example, from a personal point of view one need only consider the impact that such things as wirele…
The book is intended for both an academic and a professional audience. As a textbook, it is intended as a one- or two-semester undergraduate course for computer science, computer engineering, and electrical engineering majors. This edition is designed to support the rec- ommendations of the ACM/IEEE Computer Science Curricula 2013 (CS2013). The CS2013 curriculum recommendation includes, for the…
The topic of variable selection in high-dimensional spaces (often with hundreds or thousands of dimensions) has attracted considerable attention in data mining re- search in previous years, and it is common in many real problems. In a nutshell, feature selection is a process that chooses an optimal subset of features according to a certain criterion. The selection of the criterion must be done…
Making money demands effort, whether working for a salary or investing. You get nothing for nothing. Anyone who tells you the stock market is an absolute doddle, and money for old rope, is either a conman or a fool. And the proof of that became very clear with the stock market depressions starting in 2007. But doing a bit of work does not necessarily mean heavy mathematics and several hours eve…
Having originated in the advanced economies, the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008–09 spread rapidly to the rest of the world. The impact on the emerging markets, especially those in Asia, though not as severe as that in the advanced countries, was still quite signifi- cant. India withstood the crisis initially but could not remain entirely unaffected for long (especially after the collap…