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Almost from the very beginning of the digital age, people have sought better ways to communicate with computers. This research investigates how computers might be enabled to understand natural language in a more humanlike way. Based, in part, on cognitive development in infants, we introduce an open computational framework for visual perception and grounded language acquisition called Experience-Based Language Acquisition (EBLA). EBLA can "watch" a series of short videos and acquire a simple language of nouns and verbs corresponding to the objects and object-object relations in those videos. Upon acquiring this protolanguage, EBLA can perform basic scene analysis to generate descriptions of novel videos. The general architecture of EBLA is comprised of three stages: vision processing, entity extraction, and lexical resolution. In the vision processing stage, EBLA processes the individual frames in short videos, using a variation of the mean shift analysis image segmentation algorithm to identify and store information about significant objects. In the entity extraction stage, EBLA abstracts information about the significant objects in each video and the relationships among those objects into internal representations called entities. Finally, in the lexical acquisition stage, EBLA extracts the individual lexemes (words) from simple descriptions of each video and attempts to generate entity-lexeme mappings using an inference technique called cross-situational learning. EBLA is not primed with a base lexicon, so it faces the task of bootstrapping its lexicon from scratch. The performance of EBLA has been evaluated based on acquisition speed and accuracy of scene descriptions. For a test set of simple animations, EBLA had average acquisition success rates as high as 100% and average description success rates as high as 96.7%. For a larger set of real videos, EBLA had average acquisition success rates as high as 95.8% and average description success rates as high as 65.3%. The lower description success rate for the videos is attributed to the wide variance in entities across the videos. While there have been several systems capable of learning object or event labels for videos, EBLA is the first known system to acquire both nouns and verbs using a grounded computer vision system.

Aiming to provide the classroom support material needed on A-Level computing and BTEC courses, this book has been designed with a view to eliminating the need for hand-outs or copious note-taking. It incorporates an explanation of principles, and questions at appropriate points in the text, with spaces for the student's answers. A free lecturer's supplement is also provided.

The only IT guide you need You're busy-very busy. You need reliable, practical answers to your IT questions, and you need them now. The Vest Pocket Guide to Information Technology, Second Edition is a handy pocket problem-solver designed to provide you with the quickest route to a solution. Practical, reader-friendly, and thoroughly illustrated, this updated handbook provides complete guidance for the complex, ever-changing world of IT to help you quickly pinpoint what you need to look for, what to watch out for, what to do, and how to do it. Written by two all-time bestselling accounting and finance authors, Jae Shim and Joel Siegel, this thoroughly updated Second Edition includes tables, forms, checklists, questionnaires, practical tips, and sample reports to help you avoid and resolve any and all IT dilemmas. A must-read for business professionals, financial managers and consultants, production and operation managers, accountants, COOs, CFOs, and CEOs, this handy guide helps you: * Select the best hardware for particular application needsStrategically use IT systems * Use the best software in planning and control * Select Sarbanes-Oxley compliance software * Prevent fraud through computerized security * Effectively apply Management Information Systems (MIS) * Use online databases to make business decisions * Use a decision support system (DSS) and an executive information system (EIS) to improve the quality of analysis, evaluation, and decision making * Understand emerging trends and developments in information technology * Harness marketing information systems to improve sales planning, sales forecasting, market research, and advertising * Evaluate and manage an IT project Your professional success depends on keeping abreast of the latest thinking and applications in information technology. The Vest Pocket Guide to Information Technology, Second Edition gives you all the information you need to make optimum decisions now and plan ahead for later.

The theory of the Master Mind Principle is interesting enough; but when this principle is actually put into action and produces new results, that is when people really start to take notice. Insight and new ideas are one thing; actual results are another. This book highlights some of the success stories members of the various Master Mind groups in Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota have experienced directly related to their participation in at least one Think and Grow Rich Master Mind study group. The book is titled Inviting Dialogue because it is through the invitation of dialogue the suspension of previous assumptions for the purpose of sharing ideas and learning from each other that new results can be realized. With the opportunity to experience true dialogue, as opposed to the more common discussions and debates we experience through our business and even personal communications, the Master Mind groups bring out the best in the members and give them ongoing and regular opportunities to practice the skill of dialogue. The beauty of the Master Mind Principle is that it is available to anyone and everyone who seeks for it. The members of the Master Mind groups in this book recognize that their current results are no indication of their future success, and they are utilizing their Master Mind groups to explore new ways of thinking which lead to new results. As you read these stories, let them inspire you to follow your own dreams and imagine what can happen for you in your own life as you gather with like-minded individuals to find that compelling WHY in each of your lives.

These revision guides are based on unique test-teach-test methodology. 'A2 In a Week' covers the core topics essential for A Level success and combines full explanations with practice questions and answers. Each book contains a full mock exam.

The presence of uncertainty in a system description has always been a critical issue in control. Moving on from earlier stochastic and robust control paradigms, the main objective of this book is to introduce the reader to the fundamentals of probabilistic methods in the analysis and design of uncertain systems. Using so-called randomized algorithms, this emerging area of research guarantees a reduction in the computational complexity of classical robust control algorithms and in the conservativeness of methods like H¥ control. Features: self-contained treatment explaining the genesis of randomized algorithms in the principles of probability theory to their use for robust analysis and controller synthesis; - comprehensive treatment of sample generation, including consideration of the difficulties involved in obtaining identically and independently distributed samples; - applications of randomized algorithms in congestion control of high-speed communications networks and the stability of quantized sampled-data systems. Randomized Algorithms for Analysis and Control of Uncertain Systems will be of certain interest to control theorists concerned with robust and optimal control techniques and to all control engineers dealing with system uncertainties. The present book is a very timely contribution to the literature. I have no hesitation in asserting that it will remain a widely cited reference work for many years.M. Vidyasagar The Communications and Control Engineering series reports major technological advances which have potential for great impact in the fields of communication and control. It reflects research in industrial and academic institutions around the world so that its readership can exploit new possibilities as they become available.

Simple mathematical formulas are transformed into strikingly beautiful computer generated designs. The dynamic interplay between order and chaos is explored in 350 color images in this unique coffee table book that explains the mechanics of mathematical art. Berkowitz is perhaps the world's most widely recognized fractal artist. Fractal Cosmos is the first art book to feature fractal imagery and the largest collection of fractal art published anywhere.

Presents everything you need to know about preparing your home, family, and yourself for January 1, 2000. Softcover.