As globalization creates the need for leaders who transcend national borders, this book provides an insider's view of what makes them special. This is the first book to present a framework for understanding this fast-growing and influential group and it provides tools for readers to discover their own inner competitive edge.

The refereed proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Image Analysis and Recognition are featured in this volume. Seventy-one full papers are presented along with forty-four poster papers. These papers cover image restoration and enhancement, image and video processing and analysis, image segmentation, computer vision, pattern recognition for image analysis, shape and matching, motion analysis, tracking, and more.

Following from the very successful First KES Symposium on Agent and Multi-Agent Systems – Technologies and Applications (KES-AMSTA 2007), held in Wroclaw, Poland, 31 May–1 June 2007, the second event in the KES-AMSTA symposium series (KES-AMSTA 2008) was held in Incheon, Korea, March 26–28, 2008. The symposium was organized by the School of Computer and Information Engineering, Inha University, KES International and the KES Focus Group on Agent and Mul- agent Systems. The KES-AMSTA Symposium Series is a sub-series of the KES Conference Series. The aim of the symposium was to provide an international forum for scientific research into the technologies and applications of agent and multi-agent systems. Agent and multi-agent systems are related to the modern software which has long been recognized as a promising technology for constructing autonomous, complex and intelligent systems. A key development in the field of agent and multi-agent systems has been the specification of agent communication languages and formalization of ontologies. Agent communication languages are intended to provide standard declarative mechanisms for agents to communicate knowledge and make requests of each other, whereas ontologies are intended for conceptualization of the knowledge domain. The symposium attracted a very large number of scientists and practitioners who submitted their papers for nine main tracks concerning the methodology and applications of agent and multi-agent systems, a doctoral track and two special sessions.

Multimedia processing demands efficient programming in order to optimize functionality. Data, image, audio, and video processing, some or all of which are present in all electronic devices today, are complex programming environments. Optimized algorithms (step-by-step directions) are difficult to create but can make all the difference when developing a new application.This book discusses the most current algorithms available that will maximize your programming keeping in mind the memory and real-time constraints of the architecture with which you are working. A wide range of algorithms is covered detailing basic and advanced multimedia implementations, along with, cryptography, compression, and data error correction. The general implementation concepts can be integrated into many architectures that you find yourself working with on a specific project. Analog Devices' BlackFin technology is used for examples throughout the book. - Discusses how to decrease algorithm development times to streamline your programming - Covers all the latest algorithms needed for contrained systems - Includes case studies on WiMAX, GPS, and portable media players

This book – in conjunction with the volumes LNAI 8589 and LNBI 8590 – constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Intelligent Computing, ICIC 2014, held in Taiyuan, China, in August 2014. The 92 papers of this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections such as evolutionary computation and learning; swarm intelligence and optimization; machine learning; social and natural computing; neural networks; biometrics recognition; image processing; information security; virtual reality and human-computer interaction; knowledge discovery and data mining; signal processing; pattern recognition; biometric system and security for intelligent computing.

In this landmark book, Scott Page redefines the way we understand ourselves in relation to one another. The Difference is about how we think in groups--and how our collective wisdom exceeds the sum of its parts. Why can teams of people find better solutions than brilliant individuals working alone? And why are the best group decisions and predictions those that draw upon the very qualities that make each of us unique? The answers lie in diversity--not what we look like outside, but what we look like within, our distinct tools and abilities. The Difference reveals that progress and innovation may depend less on lone thinkers with enormous IQs than on diverse people working together and capitalizing on their individuality. Page shows how groups that display a range of perspectives outperform groups of like-minded experts. Diversity yields superior outcomes, and Page proves it using his own cutting-edge research. Moving beyond the politics that cloud standard debates about diversity, he explains why difference beats out homogeneity, whether you're talking about citizens in a democracy or scientists in the laboratory. He examines practical ways to apply diversity's logic to a host of problems, and along the way offers fascinating and surprising examples, from the redesign of the Chicago "El" to the truth about where we store our ketchup. Page changes the way we understand diversity--how to harness its untapped potential, how to understand and avoid its traps, and how we can leverage our differences for the benefit of all.