Combinatorial Algorithms


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 33rd International Workshop on Combinatorial Algorithms, IWOCA 2022, which took place as a hybrid event in Trier, Germany, during June 7-9, 2022.The 35 papers presented in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 86 submissions. They deal with diverse topics related to combinatorial algorithms, such as algorithms and data structures; algorithmic and combinatorical aspects of cryptography and information security; algorithmic game theory and complexity of games; approximation algorithms; complexity theory; combinatorics and graph theory; combinatorial generation, enumeration and counting; combinatorial optimization; combinatorics of words; computational biology; computational geometry; decompositions and combinatorial designs; distributed and network algorithms; experimental combinatorics; fine-grained complexity; graph algorithms and modelling with graphs; graph drawing and graph labelling; network theory and temporal graphs; quantum computing and algorithms for quantum computers; online algorithms; parameterized and exact algorithms; probabilistic andrandomized algorithms; and streaming algorithms.




Sports and Technology Have the Power to Change the World


Book Description

Discover how the explosions in data analytics, AI, and digital communication are benefiting sports and sports fans around the world In Sports and Technology Have The Power To Change The World: Driving Positive Change Through The Use of Data and AI, the Director of Microsoft Sports, Jon Flynn, delivers an insightful new take on the transformative power of sport and its ability to unite people, break down barriers, and generate positive change. The author explains the critical role that technology has played in growing the impact of sporting events and enabling social change while fostering community improvement. In the book, you’ll explore many of the ways in which sports, enabled by new tech, have made significant contributions to society and promoted individual development, health, and wellbeing. You’ll also find: Discussions of green technologies and climate and sustainability initiatives linked to sport, with a case study about the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Explorations of the impact of advanced data analytics, with a case study focusing on the 2013 NBA Final matchup between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs How sport scientists are optimizing player performance Perfect for anyone interested in the intersection of sport, society, and technology, Sports and Technology Have The Power To Change The World is an easy to read and endlessly fascinating look at how the unique combination of athletics and tech makes the world a better place.




Managing Ambiguity and Change


Book Description

This book uses the case of the National Health Service to examine the management of ambiguity and change. Studies of the implementation of the Griffiths Report have identified a number of unintended consequences, but it is argued that they have not adequately theorised these outcomes in the policy implementation process. It is suggested that the process-sociological approach of Elias, and in particular his game models, enable us to better understand the complex interweaving of planned and unplanned processes which is involved in the management of change.




Applied Combinatorics, Third Edition


Book Description

The third edition of this popular text presents the tools of combinatorics for a first undergraduate course. After introducing fundamental counting rules, tools of graph theory and relations, the focus is on three basic problems of combinatorics: counting, existence, and optimization problems.




The Pleasures of Computer Gaming


Book Description

This collection of essays situates the digital gaming phenomenon alongside broader debates in cultural and media studies. Contributors to this volume maintain that computer games are not simply toys, but rather circulate as commodities, new media technologies, and items of visual culture that are embedded in complex social practices. Apart from placing games within longer arcs of cultural history and broader critical debates, the contributors to this volume all adopt a pedagogical and theoretical approach to studying games and gameplay, drawing on the interdisciplinary resources of the humanities and social sciences, particularly new media studies. In eight essays, the authors develop rich and nuanced understandings of the aesthetic appeals and pleasurable engagements of digital gameplay. Topics include the role of "cheats" and "easter eggs" in influencing cheating as an aesthetic phenomenon of gameplay; the relationship between videogames, gambling, and addiction; players' aesthetic and kinaesthetic interactions with computing technology; and the epistemology and phenomenology of popular strategy-based wargames and their relationship with real-world military applications. Notes and a bibliography accompany each essay, and the work includes several screenshots, images, and photographs.




Innovative Mobile and Internet Services in Ubiquitous Computing


Book Description

This book highlights the latest research advances, new methods and development techniques, challenges and solutions from both theoretical and practical perspectives related to Ubiquitous and Pervasive Computing (UPC), with an emphasis on innovative, mobile and internet services. With the proliferation of wireless technologies and electronic devices, there is a rapidly growing interest in UPC, which makes it possible to create human-oriented computing environments in which computer chips are embedded in everyday objects and interact with the physical world. With UPC, people can go online even while moving around, thus enjoying nearly permanent access to their preferred services. Though it holds the potential to revolutionize our lives, UPC also poses a number of new research challenges. The book gathers the proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Innovative Mobile and Internet Services in Ubiquitous Computing (IMIS-2017), held on June 28–June 30, 2017 in Torino, Italy.




International Relations Theory


Book Description

Written for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, this is the first textbook on international relations theory to take a specifically game-theoretic approach to the subject, and provide the material needed for students to understand the subject thoroughly, from its basic foundations to more complex models. International relations theory is presented and analysed using simple games, which allow students to grasp the concepts and mechanisms involved with the rationalist approach without the distraction of complicated mathematics. Chapter exercises reinforce key concepts and guide students to extend the models discussed. Drawing examples from international security, international political economy, and environmental negotiations, this introductory textbook examines a broad array of topics in international relations courses, including state preferences, normal form games, bargaining, uncertainty and communication, multilateral cooperation, and the impact of domestic politics.




Rugby Union and Globalization


Book Description

In 1995 rugby union finally became a professional sport following more than a century as an amateur game. This book offers a critical analysis of the sport in the professional era and assesses the relationship between the local and the global in contemporary rugby union.







Social Computing, Behavioral-Cultural Modeling and Prediction


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Social Computing, Behavioral-Cultural Modeling and Prediction, held in College Park, MD, USA, in April 2012. The 43 revised papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 76 submissions. The papers cover a wide range of topics including economics, public health, and terrorist activities, as well as utilize a broad variety of methodologies, e.g., machine learning, cultural modeling and cognitive modeling.