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North Holland

Topological Theory of Dynamical Systems
Recent Advances
1st Edition
Volume 52
N. Aoki + 1 more
English
This monograph aims to provide an advanced account of some aspects of dynamical systems in the framework of general topology, and is intended for use by interested graduate students and working mathematicians. Although some of the topics discussed are relatively new, others are not: this book is not a collection of research papers, but a textbook to present recent developments of the theory that could be the foundations for future developments.This book contains a new theory developed by the authors to deal with problems occurring in diffentiable dynamics that are within the scope of general topology. To follow it, the book provides an adequate foundation for topological theory of dynamical systems, and contains tools which are sufficiently powerful throughout the book.Graduate students (and some undergraduates) with sufficient knowledge of basic general topology, basic topological dynamics, and basic algebraic topology will find little difficulty in reading this book.
The Psychology of Risk Taking Behavior
1st Edition
Volume 107
R.M. Trimpop
English
This book aims to help the reader to understand what motivates people to engage in risk taking behavior, such as participating in traffic, sports, financial investments, or courtship. The consequences of risk taking may be positive, or result in accidents and injuries, especially in traffic. The wealth of studies and theories (about 1000 references) is used to offer a cohesive, holistic view of risk motivation. The risk motivation theory is a dynamic state-trait model incorporating physiological, emotional and cognitive components of risk perception, processing and planning. If a deficit exists between desired and perceived risk, risk compensation behavior results. A feedback loop provides new information for the next perception-motivatio... process. Assumptions were tested and support was found with 120 subjects in a longitudinal study. The concepts and findings are discussed in relation to psychological theories and their meaning for our daily lives.
Cognitive Aspects of Visual Languages and Visual Interfaces
1st Edition
Volume 11
D.E. Mahling + 2 more
English
This volume contains selected papers from the 10th Interdisciplinary Workshop in Informatics and Psychology which had as its theme Cognitive Aspects in Visual Languages and Interfaces. Visual languages in general, visual programming languages in particular, and graphical or visual user interfaces are increasingly regarded as important improvements for the interaction between people and artifacts. Visual and graphical user interfaces have already a history of a number of years in terms of research and development. The focus on visual languages and visual programming languages, however, is more recent. The development of graphical user interfaces was accompanied and reinforced by psychological research but visual languages are still mainly inventions of designers and not designed on the basis of principles derived also from knowledge of psychology or other behavioral sciences.The presentations and discussions at the workshop showed increasing interest in paradigms of visual languages and their psychological foundation. Visual languages and interfaces must be seen as means to support and enhance represention, application and processing knowledge visually. The study of the cognitive aspects in visual languages and interfaces is thus an important part of Human-Computer Interaction as a discipline concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computer systems for human use and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them (definition of HCI in the ACM SIGCHI Curricula for Human-Computer Interaction). This book will stimulate future research in the area of Human-Computer Interaction and Visual Languages.
Intelligence, Mind, and Reasoning
Structure and Development
1st Edition
Volume 106
A. Demetriou + 1 more
English
This volume aims to contribute to the integration of three traditions that have remained separate in psychology. Specifically, the developmental, the psychometric, and the cognitive tradition. In order to achieve this aim, the text deals with these three aspects of human knowing that have been the focus of one or more of the three traditions for many years. Answers are provided to questions such as the following: What is common to intelligence, mind, and reasoning? What is specific to each of these three aspects of human knowing? How does each of them affect the functioning and development of the other?The chapters are organized into two parts. Part I focuses on intelligence and mind and has reasoning at the background. The papers in this part present new theories and methods that systematically attempt to bridge psychometric theories of intelligence with theories of cognitive development or information processing theories. Part II focuses on mind and reasoning and has intelligence at the background. The papers in this part develop models of reasoning and attempt to show how reasoning interacts with mind and intelligence. Two discussion chapters are also included. These highlight the convergences and the divergences of the various traditions as represented in the book.
Diffusion, Transfer and Implementation of Information Technology
1st Edition
Volume 45
L. Levine
English
The diffusion, transfer and implementation of information and software technology is discussed in this volume. Contributions have been sourced from academia, government and industry specialists to afford a representation from as many perspectives as possible on research and practice. The publication is divided into 7 parts, each of the first 6 sections representing a major area of concern in current technology transfer of information. The last chapter includes the summary reports of working sessions referred to in previous sections.
The Quantum Brain
Theory and Implications
1st Edition
A. Stern
English
While for the majority of physicists the problem of the deciphering of the brain code, the intelligence code, is a matter for future generations, the author boldly and forcefully disagrees. Breaking with the dogma of classical logic he develops in the form of the conversion postulate a concrete working hypothesis for the actual thought mechanism.The reader is invited on a fascinating mathematical journey to the very edges of modern scientific knowledge. From lepton and quark to mind, from cognition to a logic analogue of the Schrödinger equation, from Fibonacci numbers to logic quantum numbers, from imaginary logic to a quantum computer, from coding theory to atomic physics - the breadth and scope of this work is overwhelming. Combining quantum physics, fundamental logic and coding theory this unique work sets the stage for future physics and is bound to titillate and challenge the imagination of physicists, biophysicists and computer designers. Growing from the author's matrix operator formalization of logic, this work pursues a synthesis of physics and logic methods, leading to the development of the concept of infophysics.The experimental verification of the proposed quantum hypothesis of the brain is presently in preparation in cooperation with the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, UK, and, if proved positive, would have major theoretical implications. Even more significant should be the practical applications in such fields as molecular electronics and computer science, biophysics and neuroscience, medicine and education. The new possiblities that could be opened up by quantum level computing could be truly revolutionary.The book aims at researchers and engineers in technical sciences as well as in biophysics and biosciences in general. It should have great appeal for physicists, mathematicians, logicians and for philosophers with a mathematical bent.
Hausdorff Gaps and Limits
1st Edition
Volume 132
R. Frankiewicz + 1 more
English
Gaps and limits are two phenomena occuring in the Boolean algebra P(&ohgr;)/fin. Both were discovered by F. Hausdorff in the mid 1930's. This book aims to show how they can be used in solving several kinds of mathematical problems and to convince the reader that they are of interest in themselves. The forcing technique, which is not commonly known, is used widely in the text. A short explanation of the forcing method is given in Chapter 11. Exercises, both easy and more difficult, are given throughout the book.
Group Representations
1st Edition
Volume 3
English
This third volume can be roughly divided into two parts. The first part is devoted to the investigation of various properties of projective characters. Special attention is drawn to spin representations and their character tables and to various correspondences for projective characters. Among other topics, projective Schur index and projective representations of abelian groups are covered. The last topic is investigated by introducing a symplectic geometry on finite abelian groups.The second part is devoted to Clifford theory for graded algebras and its application to the corresponding theory for group algebras. The volume ends with a detailed investigation of the Schur index for ordinary representations. A prominant role is played in the discussion by Brauer groups together with cyclotomic algebras and cyclic algebras.
The Grasping Hand
1st Edition
Volume 104
C.L. MacKenzie + 1 more
English
The simple task of grasping objects has been studied for centuries by scientists, therapists and engineers who have tried to understand and duplicate the versatility of the human hand. Using an interdisciplinary approach and new framework for looking at prehension, the authors uncover the subleties of the amazing interaction between the hand and the brain. They draw from such diverse fields as experimental psychology, kinesiology, robotics, neural networks, artificial intelligence, neuropsychology and rehabilitation. A triangle strategy is presented, starting from conceptual models that suggest both experimental and computational models. Chapters describe the multiple postures established by the hand, phases in the dynamic process of reaching for, grasping and manipulating various objects, and the constraints acting on such activity.Appendices provide the complete anatomy of the upper limb, the basics of computational modelling, and the fundamentals of prosthetic and dextrous robot hands. The ultimate goal of this book is to develop a common vocabularly for multidisciplinary researchers who strive to understand a system as complex as the hand under the control of the human brain.
Insights into the Reach to Grasp Movement
1st Edition
Volume 105
K.M.B. Bennett + 1 more
English
This volume presents a variety of studies relating to the reach to grasp movement and provides a necessary and valuable contribution to the field of motor control. The professions covered in this book range from those interested in the basic sciences to those more interested in practical application. Neurophysiologists and biomechanists join with therapists and neural modelers to present an extensive overview of current developments. Evolutionary and developmental aspects are included together with descriptions of how this movement is affected by central nervous system damage. Purely theoretical aspects of the motor control of this movement are interspersed with treatment applications and robotics.

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