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Elsevier

North Holland

  • Concurrency Control in Distributed Database Systems

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 3
    • W. Cellary + 2 more
    • English
    Distributed Database Systems (DDBS) may be defined as integrated database systems composed of autonomous local databases, geographically distributed and interconnected by a computer network.The purpose of this monograph is to present DDBS concurrency control algorithms and their related performance issues. The most recent results have been taken into consideration. A detailed analysis and selection of these results has been made so as to include those which will promote applications and progress in the field. The application of the methods and algorithms presented is not limited to DDBSs but also relates to centralized database systems and to database machines which can often be considered as particular examples of DDBSs.The first part of the book is devoted to basic definitions and models: the distributed database model, the transaction model and the syntactic and semantic concurrency control models. The second discusses concurrency control methods in monoversion DDBSs: the locking method, the timestamp ordering method, the validation method and hybrid methods. For each method the concept, the basic algorithms, a hierarchical version of the basic algorithms, and methods for avoiding performance failures are given. The third section covers concurrency control methods in multiversion DDBSs and the fourth, methods for the semantic concurrency model. The last part concerns performance issues of DDBSs.The book is intended primarily for DDBMS designers, but is also of use to those who are engaged in the design and management of databases in general, as well as in problems of distributed system management such as distributed operating systems and computer networks.

  • The Structure of Earnings and the Measurement of Income Inequality in the U.S

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 184
    • Daniel J. Slottje
    • English
    The various issues involved in measuring income inequality in the U.S. are analyzed in this book. In describing the level of inequality inherent in a particular graduation it is important which income recipient and which data set is used and also the measure of income inequality used as the appropriate summary statistic.Recent trends in labor markets are examined and the book attempts to trace the impact of these trends on the distribution of income for various age, race and occupational cohorts, and across states. Some new methods for analyzing inequality in a multidimensional framework are also discussed. This book provides one of the most comprehensive treatments of income inequality available to date.

  • Topics in Expert System Design

    Methodologies and Tools
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 5
    • C. Tasso + 1 more
    • English
    Expert Systems are so far the most promising achievement of artificial intelligence research. Decision making, planning, design, control, supervision and diagnosis are areas where they are showing great potential. However, the establishment of expert system technology and its actual industrial impact are still limited by the lack of a sound, general and reliable design and construction methodology.This book has a dual purpose: to offer concrete guidelines and tools to the designers of expert systems, and to promote basic and applied research on methodologies and tools. It is a coordinated collection of papers from researchers in the USA and Europe, examining important and emerging topics, methodological advances and practical experience obtained in specific applications. Each paper includes a survey introduction, and a comprehensive bibliography is provided.

  • Modelling Welfare State Reform

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 225
    • G.M.M. Gelauff + 1 more
    • English
    In order to analyze the economic effects of various policy proposals for reforming the welfare state a model has been developed called MIMIC. The structure of this model is presented in the first part of this book. The model combines various modern labour market theories with a detailed description of relevant labour market institutions in an applied general equilibrium context. The second part of the volume contains an elaborate presentation of the simulation results of MIMIC, such as various tax policies, a reduction in benefits or the official minimum wage, individualization of the tax and social security system and the introduction of negative income tax. The model has proved to be a unique instrument for policy evaluation for the Netherlands.

  • Human Factors Research: Methods and Applications for Architects and Interior Designers

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 9
    • J.E. Harrigan
    • English
    In order to succeed, human factors research must blend the subjective and objective aspects of the client's situation, applying both argument and evidence. How to accomplish this complex and very necessary goal is the subject of this book in which information systems, research methods, and evaluation procedures have been formulated as elements in an application strategy that makes possible the blending of research and design. Three main themes are maintained throughout the book: the concern to ensure that designers know how to conduct human factors research in an effective and efficient manner; the emphasis on obtaining the benefits possible when designer and client work in collaboration; and the possibility that what is presented should stimulate thoughtful ideas about new computer applications or database features.Human factors research is fundamentally a problem of information development. Using the standardized information system presented in the book, the promise found in human factors research can readily be realized as the research questions and methods given provide a strategy and means for situational analysis. A necessary adjunct to human factors research is a means for assessing findings and translating them into specific design objectives, criteria, and specifications. The evaluation procedures described are directed toward these very complex requirements and provide a means for database development. The final chapter of the book contains research strategies, guidelines for establishing scopes of work, schedules, and budgets, and suggestions for proposals for those situations in which standard fees do not provide sufficient funds for human factors research.The book is written primarily for architects, interior designers, and students of environmental design. Many others will also find it of value: those who employ professional design services, executives who formulate policy for facility development and capital investment, administrators of housing, community service, educational, and recreational programs, developers concerned with community acceptability and marketability, managers of office buildings, industrial plants, and service and retail stores, and those who plan to design their own environments - all need a systematic approach to assure full benefits from their efforts and capital investments.

  • Hilbertian Kernels and Spline Functions

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 4
    • M. Atteia
    • English
    In this monograph, which is an extensive study of Hilbertian approximation, the emphasis is placed on spline functions theory. The origin of the book was an effort to show that spline theory parallels Hilbertian Kernel theory, not only for splines derived from minimization of a quadratic functional but more generally for splines considered as piecewise functions type.Being as far as possible self-contained, the book may be used as a reference, with information about developments in linear approximation, convex optimization, mechanics and partial differential equations.

  • Dynamic Modelling of Information Systems

    • 1st Edition
    • K.M. van Hee + 1 more
    • English
    The use of dynamic models in the development of information systems is regarded by many researchers as a promising issue in design support. Modelling the dynamics of information systems is likely to improve the quality and the performance of the design products. Dynamic modelling as a new approach for dynamic analysis of problems within an existing situation, and design and evaluation of different solution strategies may overcome many difficulties in the design process.

  • Current Issues in Mathematical Linguistics

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 56
    • C. Martín-Vide
    • English
    The present volume contains some selected topics of current interest around the world in the mathematical analysis of natural language. The book is divided into four sections:- analytical algebraic models- models from the theory of formal grammars and automata, with interest mainly in syntax- model-theoretic concepts in semantics or pragmatics, and- a final section containing some applications in computational linguistics.The varied perspectives illustrated in the book confirm that Mathematical Linguistics has finally introduced scientific methods into a previously fuzzy field, through the use of mathematical reasoning. The text will contribute to a fruitful convergence between linguists, mathematicians, logicians, computer scientists, cognitive scientists and others interested in the formal treatment of natural language and the research of its properties.

  • Parallel Processing for Artificial Intelligence 2

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 15
    • V. Kumar + 2 more
    • English
    With the increasing availability of parallel machines and the raising of interest in large scale and real world applications, research on parallel processing for Artificial Intelligence (AI) is gaining greater importance in the computer science environment. Many applications have been implemented and delivered but the field is still considered to be in its infancy.This book assembles diverse aspects of research in the area, providing an overview of the current state of technology. It also aims to promote further growth across the discipline. Contributions have been grouped according to their subject: architectures (3 papers), languages (4 papers), general algorithms (6 papers), and applications (5 papers). The internationally sourced papers range from purely theoretical work, simulation studies, algorithm and architecture proposals, to implemented systems and their experimental evaluation.Since the book is a second volume in the parallel processing for AI series, it provides a continued documentation of the research and advances made in the field. The editors hope that it will inspire readers to investigate the possiblities for enhancing AI systems by parallel processing and to make new discoveries of their own!

  • Matrix Logic

    Theory and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • A. Stern
    • English
    In this pioneering work, the author develops a fundamental formulation of logic in terms of theory of matrices and vector spaces. The discovery of matrix logic represents a landmark in the further formalization of logic. For the first time the power of direct mathematical computation is applied to the whole set of logic operations, allowing the derivation of both the classical and modal logics from the same formal base.The new formalism allows the author to enlarge the alphabet of the truth-values with negative logic antivalues and to link matrix logic descriptions with the Dirac formulation of quantum theory - a result having fundamental implications and repercussions for science as a whole.As a unified language which permits a logical examination of the underlying phenomena of quantum field theory and vice versa, matrix logic opens new avenues for the study of fundamental interactions and gives rise to a revolutionary conclusion that physics as such can be viewed and studied as a logic in the fundamental sense.Finally, modelling itself on exact sciences, matrix logic does not refute the classical logic but instead incorporates it as a special deterministic limit. The book requires multidisciplinary knowledge and will be of interest to physicists, mathematicians, computer scientists and engineers.

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