Modeling and implementing dynamical systems is a central problem in artificial intelligence, robotics, software agents, simulation, decision and control theory, and many other disciplines. In recent years, a new approach to representing such systems, grounded in mathematical logic, has been developed within the AI knowledge-representation community. This book presents a comprehensive treatment …
In Making Silicon Valley, Christophe Lecuyer shows that the explosive growth of the personal computer industry in Silicon Valley was the culmination of decades of growth and innovation in the San Francisco-area electronics industry. Using the tools of science and technology studies, he explores the formation of Silicon Valley as an industrial district, from its beginnings as the home of a few r…
"Ben Shneiderman's book dramatically raises computer users' expectations of what they should get from technology. He opens their eyes to new possibilities and invites them to think freshly about future technology. He challenges developers to build products that better support human needs and that are usable at any bandwidth. Shneiderman proposes Leonardo da Vinci as an inspirational muse for th…
"A Bradford book."In this provocative study, Robert Cummins takes on philosophers, both old and new, who pursue the question of mental representation as an abstraction, apart from the constraints of any particular theory or framework. Cummins asserts that mental representation is, in fact, a problem in the philosophy of science, a theoretical assumption that serves different explanatory roles w…
"Computer systems consisting of many machines will be the norm within a few years. However, making a collection of machines appear as a single, coherent system - in which the location of files, servers, programs, or users is invisible to users who do not wish to know - is a very difficult problem. LOCUS, a distributed version of the popular operating system Unix, provides an excellent solution.…
The development of parallel processing, with the attendant technology of advanced software engineering, VLSI circuits, and artificial intelligence, now allows high-performance computer systems to reach the speeds necessary to meet the challenge of future complex scientific and commercial applications. This collection of articles documents the design of one such computer, a single instruction mu…
Outgrowth of the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology."Made-Up Minds addresses fundamental questions of learning and concept invention by means of an innovative computer program that is based on the cognitive-developmental theory of psychologist Jean Piaget. Drescher uses Piaget's theory as a source of inspiration for the design of an artificial cognitive system calle…
An analysis of recent data on the economic behavior of market institutions in sub-Saharan Africa, with implications for future research and current policy.In Market Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa, Marcel Fafchamps synthesizes the results of recent surveys of indigenous market institutions in twelve countries, including Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, and presents find…
"Musicians begin formal training by acquiring a body of musical concepts commonly known as musicianship. These concepts underlie the musical skills of listening, performance, and composition. Like humans, computer music programs can benefit from a systematic foundation of musical knowledge. This book explores the technology of implementing musical processes such as segmentation, pattern process…
"A Bradford book."AnnotationOCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.