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Abstract: Behavior Trees (BTs) provide a way to structure the behavior of an artificial agent such as a robot or a non-player character in a computer game. Traditional design methods, such as finite state machines, are known to produce brittle behaviors when complexity increases, making it very hard to add features without breaking existing functionality.? BTs were created to address this very problem, and enables the creation of systems that are both modular and reactive. Behavior Trees in Robotics and AI: An Introduction provides a broad introduction as well as an in-depth exploration of the topic, and is the first comprehensive book on the use of BTs.This book introduces the subject of BTs from simple topics, such as semantics and design principles, to complex topics, such as learning and task planning. For each topic, the authors provide a set of examples, ranging from simple illustrations to realistic complex behaviors, to enable the reader to successfully combine theory with practice.Starting with an introduction to BTs, the book then describes how BTs relate to, and in many cases, generalize earlier switching structures, or control architectures. These ideas are then used as a foundation for a set of efficient and easy to use design principles. The book then presents a set of important extensions and provides a set of tools for formally analyzing these extensions using a state space formulation of BTs. With the new analysis tools, the book then formalizes the descriptions of how BTs generalize earlier approaches and shows how BTs can be automatically generated using planning and learning. The final part of the book provides an extended set of tools to capture the behavior of Stochastic BTs, where the outcomes of actions are described by probabilities. These tools enable the computation of both success probabilities and time to completion.This book targets a broad audience, including both students and professionals interested in modeling complex behaviors for robots, game characters, or other AI agents. Readers can choose at which depth and pace they want to learn the subject, depending on their needs and background.

While there is a lot of talk about how we now live in a knowledge society, the reality has been less impressive: We have yet to truly transition to a knowledge society - in part, this book argues, because discussion mostly focuses on a knowledge economy and information society rather than on ways to mobilise to create an actual knowledge society. That all may change, however, with the rise of open data and big data. This book considers the role of the open data movement in fostering transformation, showing that at the heart of any successful mobilisation will be an emerging open data ecosystem and new ways for societal actors to effectively produce and use data.

Summary: Networked thermostats, fitness monitors, and door locks show that the Internet of Things can (and will) enable new ways for people to interact with the world around them. But designing connected products for consumers brings new challenges beyond conventional software UI and interaction design. This book provides experienced UX designers and technologists with a clear and practical roadmap for approaching consumer product strategy and design in this novel market. By drawing on the best of current design practice and academic research, Designing Connected Products delivers sound advice for working with cross-device interactions and the complex ecosystems inherent in IoT technology.

Abstract: "This book examines the implications of pervasive computing from an operational, legal and ethical perspective, so that current and future e-business managers can make responsible decisions about where, when and how to use this technology"--Provided by publisher.

Abstract: "The focus of this book is on the ever increasing capacity of Pervasive context-aware applications that are aiming to develop into context-responsive applications in different application areas"--Provided by publisher.

Summary: "This handbook is a comprehensive study of the archaeology, social history, and the cultural landscape of the Hindu temple. Perhaps the most recognizable of the material forms of Hinduism, temples are lived, dynamic spaces that are significant sites of the creation of cultural heritage, both in the past and the present. Drawing on historiographical surveys and in-depth case studies, the volume centres the material form of the Hindu temple as an entry point to study its many adaptations and transformations from the early centuries CE to the 20th century. It highlights the vibrancy and dynamism of the shrine in different locales and studies the active participation of the community for its establishment, maintenance, and survival. The illustrated handbook takes a unique approach by focusing on the social base of the temple rather than its aesthetics or chronological linear development. It fills a significant gap in the study of Hinduism and will be an indispensable resource for scholars of archaeology, Hinduism, Indian history, religious studies, museum studies, South Asian history, and Southeast Asian history"-- Provided by publisher.

Summary: "This book offers high-quality original research contributions on the specialized theme of cybersecurity challenges in diverse business areas, disseminating theoretical foundations and empirical studies by researchers and practitioners to realize dependable technological systems"-- Provided by publisher.

Summary: "Health Economics and Financing is a primer for the economic analysis of medical markets. Its intended audiences are students of medicine, public health, policy, and administration who wish to engage the central economic issues of their field without prolonged preparatory work; beginning students in economics who wish to study an applied area in detail without recourse to extensive mathematical manipulation; and more advanced students in economics who may be familiar with analytical techniques but lack knowledge of the many institutional features that make the study of health and health care so unique and rewarding. This book draws upon the work of many scholars, but in keeping with its design as a primer for introducing students to the principles and concepts of health economics rather than its literature and research methods, the use of attribution, footnotes, and references is purposely limited. Suggestions for additional reading and more advanced source materials and databases are listed at the end of each chapter and are available on the instructor's website at www.wiley.com/go/getzen/healtheconomics6e. The first eleven chapters use a flow-of-funds approach to investigate the sources and uses of financing and to explore the incentives and organizational structure of the health care system. Transactions between patients and physicians (and others) are examined to see how profits are made, costs covered, contracts written (or implied), and regulations formed. The long-term consequences of exchanging services for money in a particular way are revealed by exploring the historical development of those distinctive features that characterize the industrial organization of health care: licensure, third-party insurance, nonprofit hospitals, and government regulation. The last five chapters take a wider macroeconomic perspective in order to explore the dynamics of change within the health care system and to explicitly consider determinants of national health spending and the role of governments in public and private health"-- Provided by publisher.

Summary: "Fintech, the integration of technology into the delivery of financial services has revolutionised the world of Finance. This book introduces a new framework to study the concepts that underly Fintech while examining the driving forces and underlying logic behind Fintech-based innovation and predicting the future development of Fintech. The first three parts of the book cover the development and basics of Fintech and its relationship with inclusive finance, while later sections constitute a deep dive into several core issues surrounding Fintech. First, the volume introduces an economic explanation of blockchain and its application in various scenarios based on the token paradigm. Second, it studies digital currency and discusses its impacts on payment systems, financial inclusion, monetary policy, and financial stability. Third, the authors explore how to build a compliant and effective market for data while protecting data privacy, impinging on the future development of AI application, the digital economy and Fintech. Fourth, the book examines public policies related to Fintech, including regulatory technology, the regulation of financial activities of Big Tech companies, and how to promote financial inclusion. The title will appeal to scholars, students, and financial practitioners and regulators in a broad range of areas including economics, finance, technology, and public policy, especially Fintech, blockchain, and digital currency"-- Provided by publisher.

Summary: "This book guides monetary authority on CBDC policy choices, improve upon CBDC interoperability and minimize implementation challenges overrun. Covering topics such as the digital euro, ethical implications, and sustainable development goals, this book is an essential resource for banks, high frequency traders, insurance companies, and finance professionals as they position themselves to leverage on CBDC and Fintech applications"-- Provided by publisher.

Summary: "This book presents the advances in AI-assisted agile IoT for fintech, helping readers to reveal new applications, current issues, challenges and future directions in the field of AI-assisted agile IoT for fintech applications and ecosystems"-- Provided by publisher.

Summary: "This book highlights how FinTech supports the availability and equality of opportunities to access financial services for individuals and businesses to take advantage of affordable, and timely financial products and services by featuring conceptual, case studies, recent development, best practices, comparative assessment, business processes, as well as strategies and outputs in studies of FinTech from multiple domains of knowledge"-- Provided by publisher.

Summary: "This new volume, Empowering Artificial Intelligence Through Machine Learning: New Advances and Applications, discusses various new applications of machine learning, a subset of the field of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is considered to be the next big-game changer in research and technology. The volume looks at how computing has enabled machines to learn, making machines and tools become smarter in many sectors, including science and engineering, healthcare, finance, education, gaming, security, and even agriculture, plus many more areas. Topics include techniques and methods in artificial intelligence for making machines intelligent, machine learning in healthcare, using machine learning for credit card fraud detection, using artificial intelligence in education using gaming and automatization with courses and outcomes mapping, and much more. The book will be valuable for professionals, faculty, and students in electronics and communication engineering, telecommunication engineering, network engineering, computer science and information technology"-- Provided by publisher.

Summary: "This book breaks new ground by examining trans-oceanic connectivity through the perspective of coastal shrines and maritime cultural landscapes across the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea. It covers a period of expanding networks and cross-cultural encounters from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th century CE. The book examines the distinctiveness of these shrines, and highlights their interconnections, and their role in social integration in South and Southeast Asia. By drawing on data from shipwreck sites, the author elaborates on the material and religious intersections and transmissions between cultures across the seas. Many of these coastal shrines survived into the colonial period when they came to be admired for their aesthetic value as 'monuments'. As nation states of the region became independent, these shrines were often inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List on account of their Outstanding Universal Values. The book argues that in the 21st century there is a need to promote the cultural connectivity of the past as transnational heritage on UNESCO's global platform to preserve and protect our shared heritage. The volume will be essential reading for academics and researchers of archaeology, anthropology, museum and heritage studies, history of South and Southeast Asia, religious studies, cultural studies, and Asian studies"-- Provided by publisher.

Summary: Introduction to cognitive computing and its various applications Recent trends towards cognitive science: from robots to humanized robots Cognitive compyuting in human activity recognition by healthcare robots Deep learning-based cognitive state prediction analysis using brain wave signals EEG-based cognitive performance evaluations for mental arithmetic tasks Trust or no trust in chat-bots: a millennial dilemma Cognitive computing in autonomous vehicles Optimized navigation using deep learning techniques for automatic guided vehicles Vehicular middleware and heuristic approaches for ITS systems of smart cities Error traceability and error prediction using machine learning techniques to improve the quality of vehicle modeling in computer-aided engineering All about human-robot interaction Teleportation of human body kinematicss for a tangible humanoid robot control Recognition of trivial humanoid group events using clustering and higher order local auto-correlation techniques Understanding the hand gesture command to visual attention model for mobile robot navigation: service robots in the domestic environment Mobile robots for air quality monitoring of landfill sites using the Internet of Things Artificial intelligence and Internet of Things readiness: the inclination for hotels to support a sustainable envoronment Design and fabrication of a new multi-function smart trash bin based on the Internet of Things

Summary: "Every day we make choices--about food and other purchases, financial investments, our children's health and education, even the causes we champion or the planet itself. Unfortunately, we often choose poorly. Using dozens of eye-opening examples and drawing on decades of behavioral science research, Nudge shows how sensible "choice architecture" can help us to overcome the biases that lead to bad decisions and nudge us toward the best decisions for ourselves, our families, and our society"-- Provided by publisher.

Summary: "A timely new edition of the classic journalism guide, now featuring updated material on the importance of reporting in the age of media mistrust and fake news--and how journalists can use technology while also navigating its challenges. More than two decades ago, the Committee of Concerned Journalists gathered some of America's most influential newspeople to ask the question "What is journalism for?" Through exhaustive research, surveys, interviews, and public forums, they identified the essential elements that define journalism and its role in our society. The result is one of the most important books on the media ever written, winner of the Goldsmith Book Prize from Harvard, the Society of Professional Journalists Award, and the Bart Richards Award from Penn State University. Updated with new material covering the ways journalists can deftly leverage technology to their advantage, especially given the shifting revenue architecture--with "clickbait" fading away and consumers paying a higher premium for quality reporting--this fourth edition of The Elements of Journalism is an essential read for journalists, students, and anybody hoping to stay informed in contentious times"-- Provided by publisher.

Summary: "In Digital Finance: Security Tokens and Unlocking the Real Potential Blockchain, readers will realize why security tokens are creating huge excitement in the financial industry. By combining the latest in technology and the potential for automated world-class investor protections, regulatory compliance and customer service, security tokens offer a plethora of benefits that will drive cost reductions, enhance flexibility and open up opportunities for new business models and revenue streams. Digital Finance thoroughly examines how this powerful technology can overhaul our current financial infrastructure in a way that will increase efficiency, transparency, and security"-- Provided by publisher.