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Spatial Database Transfer Standards 2: Characteristics for Assessing Standards and Full Descriptions of the National and International Standards in the World

1st Edition
July 3, 1997
H. Moellering + 1 more
English
Paperback
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eBook
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This book represents five and a half years of work by the ICA Commission on Standards for the Transfer of Spatial Data during the 1991- 95 ICA cycle. The effort began with the Commission working to develop a set of scientific characteristics by which every kind of spatial data transfer standard could be understood and assessed. This implies that every facet of the transfer process must be understood so that the scientific characteristics could be most efficiently specified. The members of the Commission spent hours looking at their own standard and many others, to ascertain how to specify most effectively the characteristic or subcharacteristic in question. The result is a set of internationally agreed scientific characteristics with 13 broad primary level classes of characteristics, 85 secondary characteristics, and about 220 tertiary characteristics that recognizes almost every possible capability that a spatial data transfer standard might have. It is recognized that no one standard possesses all of these characteristics, but contains a subset of these characteristics. However, these characteristics have been specified in such a way to facilitate understanding of individual standards, and use by interested parties of making comparisons for their own purposes. Although individual applications of a standard may be for different purposes, this set of characteristics provides a uniform measure by which the various standards may be assessed. The book presents an Introduction and four general chapters that describe the spatial data transfer standards activities happening in Europe, North America, Asia/Pacific, and the ISO community. This provides the context so the reader can more easily understand the scientific and technical framework from which a particular standard has come. The third section is a complete listing of all of the three levels of characteristics and their meaning by the inclusion of a set of definitions for terms used in the book. The fourth section, and by far the largest, contains 22 chapters that assess each of the major national and international spatial data transfer standards in the world in terms of all three levels of characteristics. Each assessment has been done by a Commission member who has been an active participant in the development of the standard being assessed in the native language of that standard. A cross-table chart is also provided.

Managing Banking Risks

1st Edition
June 24, 1997
Eddie Cade
English
eBook
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This book fills a gap in banking literature by providing a professional and sophisticated 'risk' primer for bank directors, executives and staff at every level as well as students, analysts and commentators on the banking scene. The breadth of focus is exceptional in covering the full range of banking risks, rather than the customary specialist segment.The book begins by defining risk itself and discussing how it can be approached in a banking context. It goes on to examine the concepts of volatility, expected and unexpected loss, the role of risk capital, rate of return and the required reward for risk (the 'cost of capital'). The author identifies five generic types of primary banking risk and one universal secondary type. Each of these is explored in turn from solvency and liquidity risks to credit risk, interest rate risk, price risks and operating risks. This treatment gives the reader an insight into modern risk management and hedging techniques, and many other relevant topics. Legal and regulatory issues and constraints are considered within an international frame of reference. The book offers practical guidance on the role of a bank's board and executive management, organisation and co-ordination of risk management.

Home Security

2nd Edition
June 19, 1997
Vivian Capel
English
Paperback
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eBook
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As crime rates soar every householder looks at ways to protect their home and its contents. This practical guide, in straightforward language, spells out the simple steps you can take to guard your home. It shows how burglars work, and how to thwart them. The selection and installation of alarm systems are described simply. This handy volume may provide the information you need to avoid costly and upsetting break-ins. As well as describing the bewildering range of security devices on offer, more technical readers may consider their own solutions using descriptions and circuits for two simple tested designs are given, one for the home and one for a foolproof public hall system. There is a plethora of security devices now on offer. Large sums can be spent on elaborate systems, yet weak links can be left unrecognised - except by the housebreaker! Good independent advice is scarce, as most security firms favour their own products. This book explains the pros and cons of alarm systems, including how to avoid faults, and find them if they occur. `Friendly security' is particularly featured, and other security devices are given a critical scrutiny.

Time and Behaviour

1st Edition
Volume 120
June 18, 1997
C.M. Bradshaw + 1 more
English
Hardback
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Paperback
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eBook
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That time is both a dimension of behaviour and a ubiquitous controlling variable in the lives of all living things has been well recognized for many years.The last decade has seen a burgeoning of interest in the quantitative analysis of timing behaviour, and progress during the last five or six years has been particularly impressive, with the publication of several major new theoretical contributions.There has also been considerable progress in behavioural methodology during the past decade. In the area of reinforcement schedules, for example, the venerable interresponse–time schedule, fixed–interval peak procedure and interval bisection task have been complemented by a 'second generation' of incisive instruments for analyzing timing behaviour.Another area of recent development is the analysis of the neurobiological substrate of timing behaviour. Several research groups are currently studying the involvement of various central neurotransmitter systems in the timing behaviour, and the ability of centrally acting drugs and discrete brain lesions to alter timing processes. Yet another recent development in timing research is the growing dialogue between two fields that have grown up separately, although, superficially at least, they seem to have much in common: the experimental analysis of 'interval timing', traditionally the province of experimental psychology, and behavioural chronobiology. The last few years have seen a growing interest in the comparative properties of the internal 'clocks' that regulate biobehavioural rhythms with time bases in the circadian range or longer, and those that are entailed in timing of intervals in the range of seconds or minutes.All these areas of research, and others, are represented in the chapters that make up this volume. This book will help to promote further interactions among researchers who hail from disparate disciplines, but who share a common interest in the temporal properties of behaviour.

Handbook of Personality Psychology

1st Edition
June 12, 1997
Robert Hogan + 2 more
English
eBook
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The most comprehensive single volume ever published on the subject, the Handbook of Personality Psychology is the end-all, must-have reference work for personality psychologists. This handbook discusses the development and measurement of personality as well as biological and social determinants, dynamic personality processes, the personality's relation to the self, and personality in relation to applied psychology. Authored by the field's most respected researchers, each chapter provides a concise summary of the subject to date. Topics include such areas as individual differences, stability of personality, evolutionary foundations of personality, cross-cultural perspectives, emotion, psychological defenses, and the connection between personality and health. Intended for an advanced audience, the Handbook of Personality Psychology will be your foremost resource in this diverse field.

Techniques of Scientific Computing (Part 2)

1st Edition
Volume 5
April 25, 1997
P.G. Ciarlet
English
Hardback
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eBook
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This series of volumes aims to cover the major aspects of Numerical Analysis, serving as the basic reference work on the subject. Each volume concentrates on one, two, or three, particular topics. Each article, is an in-depth survey, reflecting the most recent trends in the field, and is essentially self-contained. The handbook covers the basic methods of numerical analysis, under the following general headings: solution of equations in R n; finite difference methods; finite element methods; techniques of scientific computing; and optimization theory and systems science. It also covers the numerical solution of actual problems of contemporary interest in Applied Mathematics.

The Psychopathology of Crime

1st Edition
April 1, 1997
Adrian Raine
English
Paperback
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eBook
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This lauded bestseller, now available in paperback, takes an uncompromising look at how we define psychopathology and makes the argument that criminal behavior can and perhaps should be considered a disorder. Presenting sociological, genetic, neurochemical, brain-imaging, and psychophysiological evidence, it discusses the basis for criminal behavior and suggests, contrary to popular belief, that such behavior may be more biologically determined than previously thought.

International Review of Research in Mental Retardation

1st Edition
Volume 21
April 1, 1997
English
Paperback
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Hardback
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eBook
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This serial was established under the editorship of Dr. Norman R. Ellis in 1966. As a result of his editorial effort and the contributions of many authors, the serial is now recognized as the area's best source of reviews of behavioral research on mental retardation. From its inception, active research scientists and graduate students in mental retardation have looked to this serial as a major source of critical reviews of research and theory in the area.

A Theory of Individual Behavior

1st Edition
March 26, 1997
Robert Wichers
English
Paperback
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eBook
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A Theory of Individual Behavior dispels the notion that individuals act as rational agents and strives to capture idiosyncratic humanness through rigorous mathematics. Wichers describes a version of economic behavior that is more comprehensive and satisfying than neoclassical models yet still consistent with the usual aggregated concepts that form the basis of applied microeconomics. Written in an accessible and convincing style, A Theory of Individual Behavior discusses innovative material in a format that encourages classroom use. All chapters have questions at their conclusions, and there is a strong emphasis on testable results. The book contains a short review of mathematical models and discussion of received microeconomic theory, as well as summaries at the ends of chapters and many examples and illustrations.

Self-Organization, Computational Maps, and Motor Control

1st Edition
Volume 119
March 19, 1997
P.G. Morasso + 1 more
English
Paperback
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Hardback
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eBook
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In the study of the computational structure of biological/robotic sensorimotor systems, distributed models have gained center stage in recent years, with a range of issues including self-organization, non-linear dynamics, field computing etc. This multidisciplinary research area is addressed here by a multidisciplinary team of contributors, who provide a balanced set of articulated presentations which include reviews, computational models, simulation studies, psychophysical, and neurophysiological experiments.The book is divided into three parts, each characterized by a slightly different focus: in part I, the major theme concerns computational maps which typically model cortical areas, according to a view of the sensorimotor cortex as "geometric engine" and the site of "internal models" of external spaces. Part II also addresses problems of self-organization and field computing, but in a simpler computational architecture which, although lacking a specialized cortical machinery, can still behave in a very adaptive and surprising way by exploiting the interaction with the real world. Finally part III is focused on the motor control issues related to the physical properties of muscular actuators and the dynamic interactions with the world.The reader will find different approaches on controversial issues, such as the role and nature of force fields, the need for internal representations, the nature of invariant commands, the vexing question about coordinate transformations, the distinction between hierachiacal and bi-directional modelling, and the influence of muscle stiffness.

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