This interdisciplinary handbook provides extensive information about research in medieval studies and its most important results over the last decades. The handbook is a reference work which enables the readers to quickly and purposely gain insight into the important research discussions and to inform themselves about the current status of research in the field. The handbook consists of four parts. The first, large section offers articles on all of the main disciplines and discussions of the field. The second section presents articles on the key concepts of modern medieval studies and the debates therein. The third section is a lexicon of the most important text genres of the Middle Ages. The fourth section provides an international bio-bibliographical lexicon of the most prominent medievalists in all disciplines. A comprehensive bibliography rounds off the compendium. The result is a reference work which exhaustively documents the current status of research in medieval studies and brings the disciplines and experts of the field together.
For millennia, the passing seasons and their rhythms have marked our progress through the year. But what do they mean to us now that we lead increasingly atomized and urban lives and our weather becomes ever more unpredictable or extreme? Will it matter if we no longer hear, even notice, the first cuckoo call of spring or rejoice in the mellow fruits of harvest festival? How much will we lose if we can no longer find either refuge or reassurance in the greater natural—and meteorological—scheme of things? Nick Groom's splendidly rich and encyclopedic book is an unabashed celebration of the English seasons and the trove of strange folklore and often stranger fact they have accumulated over the centuries. Each season and its particular history are given their full due, and these chapters are interwoven with others on the calendar and how the year and months have come to be measured, on important dates and festivals such as Easter, May Day and, of course, Christmas, on that defining first cuckoo call, on national attitudes to weather, our seasonal relationship with the land and horticulture and much more. The author expresses the hope that his book will not prove an elegy: only time will tell.
An “accessible and engaging” tool for understanding the branch of mathematics that is so crucial to modern computer science, using real-life problems (Mathematical Reviews). What is the maximum number of pizza slices one can get by making four straight cuts through a circular pizza? How does a computer determine the best set of pixels to represent a straight line on a computer screen? How many people at a minimum does it take to guard an art gallery? Discrete mathematics has the answer to these—and many other—questions of picking, choosing, and shuffling. T. S. Michael’s gem of a book brings this vital but tough-to-teach subject to life using examples from the real world and popular culture. Each chapter uses one problem—such as slicing a pizza—to detail key concepts about counting numbers and arranging finite sets. Michael takes a different perspective in tackling each of eight problems and explains them in differing degrees of generality, showing in the process how the same mathematical concepts appear in varied guises and contexts. In doing so, he imparts a broader understanding of the ideas underlying discrete mathematics and helps readers appreciate and understand mathematical thinking and discovery. This book explains the basic concepts of discrete mathematics and demonstrates how to apply them in largely nontechnical language. The explanations and formulas can be grasped with a basic understanding of linear equations.
"My absolute favorite for this kind of interview preparation is Steven Skiena’s The Algorithm Design Manual. More than any other book it helped me understand just how astonishingly commonplace ... graph problems are -- they should be part of every working programmer’s toolkit. The book also covers basic data structures and sorting algorithms, which is a nice bonus. ... every 1 – pager has a simple picture, making it easy to remember. This is a great way to learn how to identify hundreds of problem types." (Steve Yegge, Get that Job at Google) "Steven Skiena’s Algorithm Design Manual retains its title as the best and most comprehensive practical algorithm guide to help identify and solve problems. ... Every programmer should read this book, and anyone working in the field should keep it close to hand. ... This is the best investment ... a programmer or aspiring programmer can make." (Harold Thimbleby, Times Higher Education) "It is wonderful to open to a random spot and discover an interesting algorithm. This is the only textbook I felt compelled to bring with me out of my student days.... The color really adds a lot of energy to the new edition of the book!" (Cory Bart, University of Delaware) "The is the most approachable book on algorithms I have." (Megan Squire, Elon University) --- This newly expanded and updated third edition of the best-selling classic continues to take the "mystery" out of designing algorithms, and analyzing their efficiency. It serves as the primary textbook of choice for algorithm design courses and interview self-study, while maintaining its status as the premier practical reference guide to algorithms for programmers, researchers, and students. The reader-friendly Algorithm Design Manual provides straightforward access to combinatorial algorithms technology, stressing design over analysis. The first part, Practical Algorithm Design, provides accessible instruction on methods for designing and analyzing computer algorithms. The second part, the Hitchhiker's Guide to Algorithms, is intended for browsing and reference, and comprises the catalog of algorithmic resources, implementations, and an extensive bibliography. NEW to the third edition: -- New and expanded coverage of randomized algorithms, hashing, divide and conquer, approximation algorithms, and quantum computing -- Provides full online support for lecturers, including an improved website component with lecture slides and videos -- Full color illustrations and code instantly clarify difficult concepts -- Includes several new "war stories" relating experiences from real-world applications -- Over 100 new problems, including programming-challenge problems from LeetCode and Hackerrank. -- Provides up-to-date links leading to the best implementations available in C, C++, and Java Additional Learning Tools: -- Contains a unique catalog identifying the 75 algorithmic problems that arise most often in practice, leading the reader down the right path to solve them -- Exercises include "job interview problems" from major software companies -- Highlighted "take home lessons" emphasize essential concepts -- The "no theorem-proof" style provides a uniquely accessible and intuitive approach to a challenging subject -- Many algorithms are presented with actual code (written in C) -- Provides comprehensive references to both survey articles and the primary literature Written by a well-known algorithms researcher who received the IEEE Computer Science and Engineering Teaching Award, this substantially enhanced third edition of The Algorithm Design Manual is an essential learning tool for students and professionals needed a solid grounding in algorithms. Professor Skiena is also the author of the popular Springer texts, The Data Science Design Manual and Programming Challenges: The Programming Contest Training Manual.
“An absolutely breathtaking book -- in its thoughtfulness and imaginativeness, in the breadth and depth of the research which it entailed, in its geographical, cultural, and historical situatedness, and in its profound critical empathy for all of the key players. Beautifully and skillfully written.” – Sydney White, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Asian Studies, and Women's Studies at Temple University "The Paper Road is an eloquent, even haunting narrative of the relationships between colonial explorers/scientists and their native collaborators that makes vivid the theme of 'colonial intimacy.' It speaks to scholars working on Chinese minorities and frontier relations, to historians of comparative colonialism, to experts on Tibet and Buddhism, and probably also simply to lovers of tales of mountains and exploration." –Charlotte Furth, Professor Emerita of Chinese History , University of Southern California.
An invaluable resource for working programmers, as well as a fount of useful algorithmic tools for computer scientists, astronomers, and other calendar enthusiasts, The Ultimate Edition updates and expands the previous edition to achieve more accurate results and present new calendar variants. The book now includes coverage of Unix dates, Italian time, the Akan, Icelandic, Saudi Arabian Umm al-Qura, and Babylonian calendars. There are also expanded treatments of the observational Islamic and Hebrew calendars and brief discussions of the Samaritan and Nepalese calendars. Several of the astronomical functions have been rewritten to produce more accurate results and to include calculations of moonrise and moonset. The authors frame the calendars of the world in a completely algorithmic form, allowing easy conversion among these calendars and the determination of secular and religious holidays. LISP code for all the algorithms is available in machine-readable form.
An invaluable resource for working programmers, as well as a fount of useful algorithmic tools for computer scientists, astronomers, and other calendar enthusiasts, The Ultimate Edition updates and expands the previous edition to achieve more accurate results and present new calendar variants. The book now includes coverage of Unix dates, Italian time, the Akan, Icelandic, Saudi Arabian Umm al-Qura, and Babylonian calendars. There are also expanded treatments of the observational Islamic and Hebrew calendars and brief discussions of the Samaritan and Nepalese calendars. Several of the astronomical functions have been rewritten to produce more accurate results and to include calculations of moonrise and moonset. The authors frame the calendars of the world in a completely algorithmic form, allowing easy conversion among these calendars and the determination of secular and religious holidays. LISP code for all the algorithms is available in machine-readable form.