Efficiency and Complexity in Grammars

Book Description

This book addresses a question fundamental to any discussion of grammatical theory and grammatical variation: to what extent can principles of grammar be explained through language use? John A. Hawkins argues that there is a profound correspondence between performance data and the fixed conventions of grammars. Preferences and patterns found in the one, he shows, are reflected in constraints and variation patterns in the other. The theoretical consequences of the proposed 'performance-grammar correspondence hypothesis' are far-reaching -- for current grammatical formalisms, for the innateness hypothesis, and for psycholinguistic models of performance and learning. Drawing on empirical generalizations and insights from language typology, generative grammar, psycholinguistics, and historical linguistics, Professor Hawkins demonstrates that the assumption that grammars are immune to performance is false. He presents detailed empirical case studies and arguments for an alternative theory in which performance has shaped the conventions of grammars and thus the variation patterns found in the world's languages. The innateness of language, he argues, resides primarily in the mechanisms human beings have for processing and learning it. This important book will interest researchers in linguistics (including typology and universals, syntax, grammatical theory, historical linguistics, functional linguistics, and corpus linguistics), psycholinguistics (including parsing, production, and acquisition), computational linguistics (including language-evolution modelling and electronic corpus development); and cognitive science (including the modeling of the performance-competence relationship, pragmatics, and relevance theory).

Algorithms, Complexity Analysis and VLSI Architectures for MPEG-4 Motion Estimation

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An excellent book for research on motion estimation in MPEG4
professional book for implementation
Exactly what you need to know

Algorithms, Complexity Analysis and VLSI Architectures for MPEG-4 Motion Estimation
Peter M. Kuhn
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0792385160

Book Description

MPEG-4 is the multimedia standard for combining interactivity, natural and synthetic digital video, audio and computer-graphics. Typical applications are: internet, video conferencing, mobile videophones, multimedia cooperative work, teleteaching and games. With MPEG-4 the next step from block-based video (ISO/IEC MPEG-1, MPEG-2, CCITT H.261, ITU-T H.263) to arbitrarily-shaped visual objects is taken. This significant step demands a new methodology for system analysis and design to meet the considerably higher flexibility of MPEG-4.
Motion estimation is a central part of MPEG-1/2/4 and H.261/H.263 video compression standards and has attracted much attention in research and industry, for the following reasons: it is computationally the most demanding algorithm of a video encoder (about 60-80% of the total computation time), it has a high impact on the visual quality of a video encoder, and it is not standardized, thus being open to competition.
Algorithms, Complexity Analysis, and VLSI Architectures for MPEG-4 Motion Estimation covers in detail every single step in the design of a MPEG-1/2/4 or H.261/H.263 compliant video encoder:

Fast motion estimation algorithms
Complexity analysis tools
Detailed complexity analysis of a software implementation of MPEG-4 video
Complexity and visual quality analysis of fast motion estimation algorithms within MPEG-4
Design space on motion estimation VLSI architectures
Detailed VLSI design examples of (1) a high throughput and (2) a low-power MPEG-4 motion estimator.

Algorithms, Complexity Analysis and VLSI Architectures for MPEG-4 Motion Estimation is an important introduction to numerous algorithmic, architectural and system design aspects of the multimedia standard MPEG-4. As such, all researchers, students and practitioners working in image processing, video coding or system and VLSI design will find this book of interest.

Customer Reviews:

An excellent book for research on motion estimation in MPEG4.......2000-12-13

For mpeg4 motion estimation, it is the only book on the market that well explains and covers with complete algorithms analysis. The references of the papers for each chapter give you more clues about the each algorithm implementation. I would recommend also reference to ISO/IEC 14496-5 MPEG4 codec software and specs to help you understand MPEG4 codec in digital video processing and implementation on streaming media

professional book for implementation.......2000-05-10

an exceleent book with deep investigation on motion estimation. you can find most algorithms proposed before with complete references. The author also provides a profiling tool which is so efficent for complexity analysis. you will be able to benefit it definitly :)

Exactly what you need to know.......2000-04-10

You're looking for the alogritm of making video confrence, orany video transfer, this is the book for you! While reading youunderstand where the price coming from! The Author knows the matterialvery well, and lets the reader to understand the mpeg-4 technology!

Automation, Control and Complexity: An Integrated Approach

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Automation, Control and Complexity: An Integrated Approach

Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 047181654X

Book Description

Technological developments increasingly require the conflicting criteria of performance, cost, environmental impact and safety to be reconciled. The field of complexity management addresses this challenge through the integration of traditionally disparate disciplines such as control science, software engineering, artificial intelligence and biology.

Automation, Control and Complexity - An Integrated Approach is organised around four central themes:

People and Automation, Sensing and Control, Software and Complex Systems and Complexity Management and Networks.

Features include:

Authoritative discussions of complexity within a variety of engineering domains, including commercial aviation, process industries, communication networks and power systems.
Expositions of current and future trends in a wide range of technical fields such as control engineering, computer science, sensor systems, maintenance and diagnostics.
Practical examples of the harnessing of sophisticated technologies for the realisation of a new generation of automation and control solutions.

Based upon a unique wealth of practical experience, this book exposes complexity as an opportunity to be seized rather than a problem to be confronted and will be of value to all technologists, managers, students and researchers dealing with complex engineering systems.

Heath Ceramics: The Complexity of Simplicity

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An appreciation of modern ceramics.
Beautiful and Finally Available
A big thanks to the authors!

Heath Ceramics: The Complexity of Simplicity
Amos Klausner
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Oaxacan Ceramics: Traditional Folk Art by Oaxacan Women

ASIN: 0811855600

Book Description

Durable, honest, and handsome, Heath ceramics are design icons. Much collected, these signature tableware and tiles are still made according to the artisanal tradition that Edith Heath conceived in the mid-1940s, when she founded the company it is one of the few remaining mid-century American potteries in Sausalito, California. Now the remarkable history, legacy, and craft of these ceramics, as well as the story of the woman who created them, are told for the first time in word and hundreds of archival and newly commissioned images. Heath's work has been an inspiration to numerous luminaries in diverse fields. Among those contributing their insights to the book are dwr.com founder Rob Forbes, restaurateur Alice Waters, design maven Agnes Bourne, and many more. Heath Ceramics is the celebration of this classic pottery that is still part of today's design scene.

Customer Reviews:

An appreciation of modern ceramics........2006-12-31

Definitely not a "coffee table" dust collector but a book that I have spent many pleasant hours enjoying. It gives the reader an appreciation of how the multi-faceted potter Edith Heath brought classic design into the home through her ceramics. This book is a wonderful addition to my library and it makes gift giving easy.

Beautiful and Finally Available.......2006-12-29

The book for anyone with a passion for Edith Heath's designs as well as people interested in ceramics from the 40s until today. What the book lacks is a catalog of Heath's ceramic designs. But this shortcoming is not a big deal. What this wonderfully designed and produced book boasts is the vision of a singular woman who will forever be a part of the design landscape. The book is an absolute steal at the amazon.com price. Dense editorials, fantastic photography. A beautiful tribute.

A big thanks to the authors!.......2006-12-14

Finally, a respectable book on Edith Heath! Klausner's work really stands out in the small but discerning crowd of Heathophiles. The more I tuck into this extraordinary book the more I become fascinated by the miraculous and timeless techniques of the House of Heath. I recommend this book to anyone even remotely interested in ceramics.

Advanced Systems Thinking, Engineering, and Management (Artech House Technology Management and Professional Development Library)

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Advanced Systems Thinking, Engineering, and Management (Artech House Technology Management and Professional Development Library)
Derek K. Hitchins
Manufacturer: Artech House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1580536190

Book Description

No matter what field you are working in or studying, Advanced Systems Thinking, Engineering, and Management offers you a comprehensive understanding of systems ideas and methods to help you achieve unmatched success with your challenging projects. This unique resource helps you add a systems-scientific grounding to systems engineering enterprises, showing you how to solve intractable problems, design systems to accommodate complex environments, and manage both creative and operational systems. You learn how to conceive, design and manage a systems engineering process for optimal results.

The Future of Product Development: Proceedings of the 17th CIRP Design Conference

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The Future of Product Development: Proceedings of the 17th CIRP Design Conference

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3540698191

Book Description

Product development is one of the most important drivers of innovation. Methods, procedures and systems evoke, enable and support innovation. The papers presented in this book, show that answers can only be composed out of a variety of solutions where psychological, economical and technical research results are taken into account.

The proceedings represent trends in Product Development concerning industrial users and vendors as well as scientific research aspects.

The following topics are covered: Design Theory, Product Design, Requirements, Collaborative Engineering, Complex Design, Mechatronics, Reverse Engineering, Virtual Prototyping, CAE, KBE and PLM.

Language And Culture: Global Flows And Local Complexity (Languages for Intercultural Communication and Education)

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Language And Culture: Global Flows And Local Complexity (Languages for Intercultural Communication and Education)
Karen Risager
Manufacturer: Multilingual Matters Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1853598585

Chaos Under Control: The Art and Science of Complexity

Average customer rating:

A very good introduction to chaos and fractals
Too Little Color and Not Enough Exercises
examples and activities give you a real feel for chaos

Chaos Under Control: The Art and Science of Complexity
David Peak , and Michael Frame
Manufacturer: W.H. Freeman & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0716724294

Customer Reviews:

A very good introduction to chaos and fractals.......2005-10-10

Chaotic dynamics is one of the most fascinating areas of mathematics and one that every mathematician should have some knowledge of. This book is an excellent primer on the geometry of fractals, chaotic dynamics and cellular automata. It is written for a popular audience, although the authors were not afraid to include the appropriate equations when they were needed for a full explanation. Many examples of how fractals and chaos can be used to describe the physical world are included. A large number of figures are used to demonstrate the consequences of the equations.
If your background in mathematics is limited to basic algebra, then there are areas of this book that you will struggle with. However, if you are determined to learn, you will be able to do so. It is one of the best introductions to fractals and chaos that is available.

Too Little Color and Not Enough Exercises.......2005-08-22

CHAOS UNDER CONTROL lies somewhere between a standard textbook on chaos and fractals and the more popular works on the subject. There are suggested experiments to be performed by the reader, but no sets of exercises at the end of sections or chapters. I chiefly want to warn potential buyers that the paperback edition contains 16 "color plates" that are unfortunately reproduced in black and white. The discussion of the plates by the authors refers repeatedly to the colors, which are indeed significant. Many of the other black and white figures scattered throughout the text would provide the reader with more information (and enjoyment) if reproduced in color. If you wish to purchase this book, at least try to find a hard cover edition with true color plates.

examples and activities give you a real feel for chaos.......2000-04-21

As a teacher attempting to introduce chaos theory into high school physics and mathematics classes, the book gave many examples of practical activities. It also gave many examples of how chaos could and would become useful. There are currently so many false methods being used to integrate subject matter in education; chaos theory has great potential to demonstrate clear connections between arts, sciences, and social sciences, and Peak and Frame in a simple manner bring this to light.

Complexity and Creativity in Organizations

Average customer rating:

Highly Recommended!
Great application of chaos theory to organizations
Save your money...
Disappointing in light of Stacey's other work in this field.

Complexity and Creativity in Organizations
Ralph Stacey
Manufacturer: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1881052893

Book Description

Complexity and Creativity in Organizations is the most comprehensive and thorough book yet written on how the new science of complexity can be applied to organizations. In it, Ralph Stacey invites you to explore how this new science might provide us with more useful frameworks for making sense of life in organizations than the approaches that currently dominate our thinking.

Customer Reviews:

Highly Recommended!.......2001-08-04

Organizations are adaptive structures that respond creatively to changing circumstances. This responsive evolution takes place on an official, surface level, and also on a deeper, personal level composed of interactions between people. So says Ralph D. Stacey, who combines insights from psychoanalysis, behavioral research, the new science of complexity and other disciplines to suggest ways for your organization to become better at learning and adapting. While the basic concepts of complexity theory presented in this book are steadily gaining popularity, the actual complexity of the book's content might make it difficult for non-experts to follow. Although the book's tight organization keeps chaos at bay, some of the language might leave you at "the edge of disintegration." Nevertheless, we at [...] strongly recommend this book to executives and managers looking to build a theoretical foundation for their organizational approach, in addition to the many academics who will appreciate its systematic explanation of the organizational consequences of systems thinking.

Great application of chaos theory to organizations.......2001-03-24

Stacey did a good job applying chaos theory to business in this book. He develops a very convincing and interesting conceptual framework for organizations in the future. Although the book mainly focuses on theory, he does provide some practical guidelines and case studies. He repeats the theories quite often and thus, the book is especially appropriate for students who really want to get the jist of the theory. If you read it for fun, all these repetitions might become tedious. All in all, a great book!

Save your money..........1998-04-27

While the content should have some value, the cost to the reader to extract the information is so high that the author should pay the reader to read his book. In the first 25 pages of "At Home in the Universe", Stuart Kauffman sucessfully introduces more than Stacey stumbled over in 282 pages. If it's an organizational perspective you want, buy Margaret Wheatley's stuff.

Disappointing in light of Stacey's other work in this field........1997-01-03

Ralph D. Stacey (strategic management, U. of Hertfordshire, England, and management consultant) has contributed for years to our knowledge related to organizations and management. His previous publications primarily served to illuminate the relevance of applying strategic approaches and complexity theory to organization and management in a rapidly growing environment (see for example, Stacey, 1991, 1992, 1993). His latest installment, Complexity and Creativity in Organizations, represents a significant step forward in his thinking by reviving systems theory and integrating insights from a variety of disciplines to create, he proposes, an original perspective. More precisely, Stacey combines his acquired acumen from the fields of chaos and complexity, organizational behavior, biology, and psychoanalysis to demonstrate how complexity concepts may be used to create a framework for understanding organizational processes and learning. During the course of his presentation, Stacey reviews current knowledge in the nature of human networks and complexity theory. He explores the place of complexity in individuals, groups and organizations. He also discusses the implications of applying the complexity paradigm for management research and practice. Complexity and Creativity in Organizations is aimed at "consultants, and managers, those concerned with life in organizations, to new efforts being undertaken to understand life in nature." It is organized into ten chapters divided into four parts: Part I: The Complex Nature of Human Networks, attempts to demonstrate "that human systems are indeed the kind of system that the science of complexity deals with." Part II: The Science of Complexity, reviews literature on "the dynamics of deterministic feedback networks," and explores how some "scientists have come to understand adaptive feedback networks." Part III: Mapping the Science of Complexity onto Organizations, "seeks to locate the space for novelty in human systems and explore the process of evolution in that space." Part IV: Implications of Complexity Theory for Organizations, attempts to illustrate that by adopting the complexity perspective, our understanding of organizational life is "completely different from today's dominant frame of reference." It includes a brief glossary; some expected references; and an index appropriate to the depth of this work. This book is well intended, but falls short of stated goals and purpose. This reviewer was unable to discover sufficient value in Stacey's recent contribution to merit its recommendation. A genuine disappointment considering his earlier, value-adding writings. Stacey's Complexity and Creativity in Organizations fails in areas ranging from the timeliness of his information--it is out dated; to lack of contribution--it's an unfortunate attempt to repackage existing knowledge; to coverage and depth of his subject; to the tone and presentation of the work. His writing style and tone are that of lecturer dealing with elementary school students as he avidly invokes the royal "we" to connect with his readers. He offers paragraphs of immoderate length, some consisting of one sentence. (This reviewer became discouraged trying to decipher some sentences ranging from seventy to ninety-five words. She had to edit them into four or five sentences so she could follow his points. Points which, when understood, were not worth the editorial effort.) As a combined example of "we"-ness in a two sentence paragraph beginning with a ninety-five word sentence advancing too many concepts at once, "let us" consider the following. We have now mapped the novelty onto organizations, and we have found . . . nonlinear feedback system: . . . phase transition . . . stable and unstable zones . . . control parameters . . . at a critical point . . . the edge of system disintegration in which paradox is sustained . . . archetypical behaviors are actualized . . . creative destruction. This is followed by a 33 word sentence which includes two "we"s and the phrases "peculiarity of human dynamics of anxiety-inspiration," "individuation-conformity," "leadership-followership," and "participation-observation render mapping invalid (page 183)." This reviewer places part of the blame for Stacey's presentation on the publisher who seems to have been remiss in the discharging of editorial responsibilities. Stacey may also confuse some by not offering comparable terms from different fields. Those less inter-disciplinarily trained may not recognize, for example, that the term "Shadow system" (to which he has apparently developed a fondness owing to its usage every few pages), is not discernibly different from the concept of "Informal organization" which he does not mention, but is often speaking about. While his book is presented as inter-disciplinary in nature, me thinks and "feels" that Stacey's study of psychology and psychoanalysis have overly influenced his writing. He frequently discusses "how we feel" or "feelings" in relationship to how consultants might analyze a complex organizational situation. His current writing is rich in banality and incomparable comparisons. My personal favorite is when he compares schools of psychology. In one paragraph, he discusses with equal fervor the work of Berne, Freud and Jung. Specifically, he discusses Transactional Analysis (TA) brought to you by Berne in Games People Play. TA was never much more than a popular 1960s parlor game. And Games People Play primarily served as the textual reference to inform the Friday night pop-psychological critiques bandied about by those who had one too many beers. Stacey then proceeds to Freud as relates to anal retentive, anal explusive and orally fixated scripts; and to Jung as it relates to personal archetypes and personal behaviors activated by specific experiences. There are many other problems with this book which "we" do not have the space to discuss. Those deeply interested in chaos and complexity theories as applied to management and organizations are better served by examining earlier, and in my opinion, more informed writing on these topics. See, for example, works by Gleick, 1988; Waldrop, 1992; and Wheatley, 1992. Moreover, a search on the internet concerning chaos and complexity will yield much information on current states of theories, research and practice, as well as discussion groups and detailed bibliographies. Bottom line, this reviewer gained little from this book, but did have a few chuckles. Read Complexity and Creativity in Organizations at your own risk. REFERENCES: Berne, E. (1964). Games people play. New York: Grove Press. Gleick, J. (1988). Chaos: The making of a new science. London: Heinemann. Stacey, RD. (1991). The chaos frontier: Creative strategic control for business. Oxford, England: Butterworth-Heinemann. Stacey, RD. (1992). Managing the unknowable: Strategic boundaries between order and chaos in organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Stacey, RD. (1993). Strategic management and organizational dynamics. London: Pitman. Waldrop, MM. (1992). Complexity: The emerging science at the edge of chaos. New York: Simon & Schuster. Wheatley, MJ. (1992). Leadership and the New Science: Learning about organization from an orderly universe. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler. [Note: the above was excerpted from review by Susan Phelps that appears in "Personnel Psychology

Simplicity and Complexity: Pondering Literature, Science, and Painting (Studies in Literature and Science)

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Simplicity and Complexity: Pondering Literature, Science, and Painting (Studies in Literature and Science)
Floyd Fenly Merrell
Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0472108603

Book Description

Behind every apparently placid surface there lies an unruly ocean of complexity. Fractals, chaos theory, and dissipative structures bear witness to these hidden complexities of the universe. Complementing these ideas in the sciences, fiction from the likes of Jorge Luis Borges, Italo Calvino, Thomas Pynchon, and Samuel Beckett reveals our deep-seated desire for simplicity while we are obliged to learn to cope with complexity. And painting, especially since Paul Cézanne, evinces the complexity pervading what we often wish to take simply as what there is.

Simplicity and Complexity is about simplicity and complexity, order and disorder, as seen through the lenses of fiction, the sciences, and works of art. Floyd Merrell offers a nonmathematical account of chaos theory, fractal geometry, and the physics of complexity insofar as they are relevant to crucial facets of literature and painting created over the past century. Though his account is informal, he addresses technical concepts and philosophical questions, and sheds new light on the authors and painters he discusses. His radically interdisciplinary approach is within the mainstream of postmodern practices, yet it criticizes the tendency toward facile conclusions and sweeping generalizations regarding relations between the arts, the humanities, and the sciences. It brings a collection of disciplines under an umbrella that is protective of particular theories, concepts, methods, and practices, while revealing connecting threads in the tenuously linked web of all human endeavors to know the product of the mind and of the world.

"Merrell gives inter-disciplinarity a new horizon and continues the dialogue between the sciences and literature in a way I have not seen since Hegel tried to pull it all together in his Encyclopedia." --Eugen Baer, Professor of Philosophy, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Floyd Merrell is Professor of Theory, Semiotics, and Spanish-American Literature, Purdue University. He is the author of a number of books, including Peirce's Semiotics Now: A Primer; Semiosis in the Postmodern Age; and Sign, Textuality, World.

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