Books published by Springer International Publishing AG

This well-accessible textbook constitutes a practical guide to metabolomics approaches and applications in an integrative manner. Illustrated by numerous real-life examples and case studies the book teaches how to set up and carry out metabolomics experiments, from sample collection to storage techniques, and guides the reader through the potentials and challenges of metabolite analysis. In addition, this textbook shows how to obtain insights into molecular mechanisms deployed in different physiological contexts (e.g., exercise, healthy ageing) as well as in different (metabolic) diseases, be it Diabetes, Cancer, Alzheimer¿s Disease, Asthma or others. The book brings together knowledge from biochemical, biological, and medical aspects, and further equips the reader with know-how from sample collection and handling to data processing, analysis and interpretation. This textbook is a must-have for advanced undergraduates and graduate students interested in applied biochemistry and metabolomics, as well as for instructors who teach courses in biomedicine, physiology or biochemistry.

This book introduces the essentials of Python for the emerging fields of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The authors explore the use of Python¿s advanced module features and apply them in probability, statistical testing, signal processing, financial forecasting, and various other applications. This includes mathematical operations with array data structures, Data Manipulation, Data Cleaning, machine learning, Data pipeline, probability density functions, interpolation, visualization, and other high-performance benefits using the core scientific packages NumPy, Pandas, SciPy, Sklearn/Scikit learn and Matplotlib. Readers will gain a deep understanding with problem-solving experience on these powerful platforms when dealing with engineering and scientific problems related to Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Several examples of real problems using these techniques are provided along with examples. The authors also focus on the best practices in the industry on using Python for AI and ML. Deployment on a cloud infrastructure is described in detail (with code) to emphasize real scenarios.

In recent years cube complexes have become a cornerstone topic of geometric group theory and have proven to be a powerful tool in other areas, such as low dimensional topology, phylogenetic trees or in the context of optimization problems.This book covers a wide variety of algebraic and geometric properties of cube complexes and the groups acting on them. The content ranges from basic properties of metric spaces, notions of non-positive curvature, Gromov's link condition and the ¿varc¿Milnor theorem to advanced material such as the cubulation of half-space systems and the Roller boundary, the construction of cube complexes associated with Coxeter groups, and the Tits alternative for cubical groups.Being the first self-contained, comprehensive introduction to cube complexes this book serves as an entry point for researchers interested in the subject. The material is accessible to advanced undergraduate and graduate students. The text is illustrated with many figures and examples and comes with a large collection of exercises.

This book examines the memories of the Partition of India in 1947 with a focus on the generation of postmemory (those who came after it) and how partition experiences have been shared (or not) and understood. It explores the formal and narrative properties of different memory practices that have been built around the partition, and the methods of oral historians involved in collecting testimonies as part of the 1947 Berkeley partition archive.

This thesis describes key contributions to the fundamental understanding of materials structure and dynamics from a microscopic perspective. In particular, the thesis reports several advancements in time-domain methodologies using ultrafast pulses from X-ray free-electron lasers (FEL) to probe the interactions between electrons and phonons in photoexcited materials. Using femtosecond time-resolved X-ray diffraction, the author quantifies the coherent atomic motion trajectory upon sudden excitation of carriers in SnSe. This allows the reconstruction of the nonequilibrium lattice structure and identification of a novel lattice instability towards a higher-symmetry structure not found in equilibrium. This is followed by an investigation of the excited-state phonon dispersion in SnSe using time-resolved X-ray diffuse scattering which enables important insight into how photoexcitation alters the strength of specific bonds leading to the novel lattice instability observed in X-ray diffraction. Finally, by combining ultrafast X-ray diffraction and ARPES, the author performs quantitative measurements of electron-phonon coupling in Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3. The findings highlight the importance of time-resolved X-ray scattering techniques based on FELs, which reveals the details of interplay between electron orbitals, atomic bonds, and structural instabilities. The microscopic information of electron phonon interaction obtained from these methods can rationalize ways to control materials and to design their functional properties.

The world is warming up rapidly and this change is most noticeable in mountains with already observable consequences on flora and fauna. This book presents concepts, methodologies and major achievements of recent research in climate change ecology in mountains by placing this research in a historical perspective, that of travelers and naturalists of the Romantic era, and first of all Alexander von Humboldt.There is now a renewed interest, both in academia and beyond, in Humboldt, his writings and his view of nature. But how can we actually make use of his writings? How can we put his philosophy into practice? How can we still learn from past scientific figures and do a better science today? In this book, the author presents how it is possible to succeed in modern science by returning to sources, by renewing the tradition of past polymaths such as Humboldt, and by having a fully humanistic approach in science. He illustrates his point based on his 15-year experience in the study of the ecological effects of climate change in the tropical Andes, showing how he has incorporated approaches from other disciplines, from different branches of science, from history and the arts to achieve a more comprehensive view of his scientific field. Alongside hard data, discoveries by past naturalists build our understanding of the world but appealing to our emotions makes us want to understand it. In the author¿s view this is a productive and enjoyable way of doing science that speaks to our humanity and also increases our knowledge about nature. This academic cross-over book appeals to a broad audience of students, scientists or, supported by attractive illustrations, to anyone interested in the adventure or making of science, but not necessarily with a scientific background.

The Life Science industry has been subject to a digital revolution upending all facets of the value chain with data-driven approaches like Gene Therapy, Personalized Medicine, Advanced Cell and Tissue Engineering, Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Digital Twins, Internet-of-Medical-Things (IoMT) and Software-as-a-Medical-Device (SaMD). Our edited volume offers comprehensive coverage of the digital disruption sweeping through the industry. From drug discovery to manufacturing and life-cycle management, we explore the profound impact of digitalization. Our authors delve into open innovation, sci-fi prototyping, and the digital transformation of medical imaging and healthcare. This volume goes beyond theory to provide practical insights. We present business-oriented case studies, examine M&A topics, venture capital, and other investor perspectives, all with a strong focus on digitalization's role. Furthermore, we explore the cultural and ethical challenges that arise andthe necessary management changes demanded by this digital revolution.

High efficiency, large scale, stationary computing systems ¿ supercomputers and data centers ¿ are becoming increasingly important due to the movement of data storage and processing onto remote cloud servers. This book is dedicated to a technology particularly appropriate for this application ¿ superconductive electronics, in particular, rapid single flux quantum circuits. The primary purpose of this book is to introduce and systematize recent developments in superconductive electronics into a cohesive whole to support the further development of large scale computing systems.A brief background into the physics of superconductivity and the operation of common superconductive devices is provided, followed by an introduction into different superconductive logic families, including the logic gates, interconnect, and bias current distribution. Synchronization, fabrication, and electronic design automation methodologies are presented, reviewing both widely established concepts and techniques as well as recent approaches. Issues related to memory, synchronization, interconnects, coupling noise, bias networks, signal interfaces, and deep scaling of superconductive structures and design for testability are described, and models, expressions, circuits, algorithms, and design methodologies are discussed and placed in context. The aim of this book is to provide insight and engineering intuition into the design of large scale digital superconductive circuits and systems.

This book, using R and RStudio, demonstrates how to render an audit opinion that is legally and statistically defensible; analyze, extract, and manipulate accounting data; build a risk assessment matrix to inform the conduct of a cost-effective audit program; and more. Today, information technology plays a pivotal role in financial control and audit: most financial data is now digitally recorded and dispersed among servers, clouds and networks over which the audited firm has no control. Additionally, a firm¿s datäparticularly in the case of finance, software, insurance and biotech firms¿comprises most of the audited value of the firm. Financial audits are critical mechanisms for ensuring the integrity of information systems and the reporting of organizational finances. They help avoid the abuses that led to passage of legislation such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (1977), and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002).Audit effectiveness has declined over the past two decades, as auditor skillsets have failed to keep up with advances in information technology. Information and communication technology lie at the core of commerce today and are integrated in business processes around the world. This book is designed to meet the increasing need of audit professionals to understand information technology and the controls required to manage it. This 2nd edition includes updated code and test. Machine learning, AI, and SEC¿s EDGAR data are also, improved and updated. The material included focuses on the requirements for annual Securities and Exchange Commission audits (10-K) for listed corporations. These represent the benchmark auditing procedures for specialized audits, such as internal, governmental, and attestation audits. Many examples reflect the focus of the 2024 CPA exam, and the data analytics-machine learning approach will be central to the AICPA¿s programs, in the near future.

Death rituals are a universal feature of every human culture across the world. Every human must eventually face the stark reality of death, and many cultures and religions have sought to make sense of death and bring solace to the people through bereavement rituals. Infant death has been commonplace in most of human history. Despite the high prevalence of pregnancy loss (25% of all pregnancies) and infant death (0.6% of liveborn infants), these deaths are rarely discussed openly. The parents¿ grief often is underestimated or ignored by their social network who may never have met the baby and/or feel uncomfortable discussing the loss of a child. On the other hand, the families enduring perinatal loss experience profound grief, loss of the actual and imagined future for that child, and the baby is never forgotten. Thus, parents seek to have their baby remembered through the creation of keepsakes, memories, and rituals. Having a supportive environment that honors their loss and their child¿s memory and helps to facilitate meaningful rituals can have a profound effect on their long-term bereavement.There is a large amount of literature on death rituals across cultures but most books include infants only briefly and miscarried or stillborn babies are not mentioned at all. This text seeks to fill this substantial gap through review of existing literature paired with dozens of interviews with clinicians and caregivers across many disciplines in the hospital and community as well as bereaved family members who have gone through perinatal loss.The authors recruited in Bereavement Rituals after Pregnancy Loss or Infant Death across U.S. Cultures are a broad group of experts that include clinicians in palliative care and perinatal bereavement, nurses and clergy from different religious groups. The book is broken up into three main sections. The first provides a history and theoretical basis for perinatal death rituals. The second includes an overview of common beliefs and practices in major US religious and cultural groups. The third focuses on the roles of the health care team members and offers a practical how-to guide for health care providers to support families through rituals that fit their personal values and needs.

This successful textbook on the psychology of communication explains - here in English for the first time - how human communication works in a very understandable way. It begins with the explanation of central terms and the explanation of known communication models (e.g. the models according to Schulz von Thun, Watzlawick, Hargie and colleagues), then describes means of non-verbal and verbal communication and ends with a clear and structured summary of communication forms. Concrete fields of application, stumbling blocks (e.g. intercultural differences in communication), practical examples and digressions in the book round off what has been read and consolidate what has been learned. In addition, free learning materials are available on the Internet with which readers can test their knowledge acquisition.

This open access proceedings presents new approaches to Machine Learning for Cyber-Physical Systems, experiences and visions. It contains some selected papers from the international Conference ML4CPS ¿ Machine Learning for Cyber-Physical Systems, which was held in Hamburg (Germany), March 29th to 31st, 2023. Cyber-physical systems are characterized by their ability to adapt and to learn: They analyze their environment and, based on observations, they learn patterns, correlations and predictive models. Typical applications are condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, image processing and diagnosis. Machine Learning is the key technology for these developments.This is an open access book.

This book introduces the new paradigm of lifelong and continual learning dialogue systems to endow dialogue systems with the ability to learn continually by themselves through their own self-initiated interactions with their users and the working environments. The authors present the latest developments and techniques for building such continual learning dialogue systems. The book explains how these developments allow systems to continuously learn new language expressions, lexical and factual knowledge, and conversational skills through interactions and dialogues. Additionally, the book covers techniques to acquire new training examples for learning new tasks during the conversation. The book also reviews existing work on lifelong learning and discusses areas for future research.

A career in emergency medicine can be truly rewarding, despite the long hours and adverse conditions. The decision to embark on this journey typically starts during medical school, usually with the allure of resuscitations and life-saving procedures performed in the fast-paced environment of the emergency department. During an emergency medicine residency, the young physician is faced with career decisions that may involve working in a community or academic emergency department setting, or pursuing specialization through fellowship. Following residency and fellowship training, the emergency physician may decide to purely work clinically in an emergency department, or combine clinical responsibilities with administrative, education or research pursuits. This unique text provides medical students, residents, fellows and attending physicians with a comprehensive guide to be successful in a career in emergency medicine. Sections include the history of emergency medicine, choosing a career in emergency medicine from a medical student¿s point of view, pursuing fellowship and additional training, community and academic careers in emergency medicine, career options in emergency medicine, critical skills in emergency medicine, research/scholarship, being a teacher, and carving a path in emergency medicine. All chapters are written by experts in the field, representing emergency departments throughout North America.

This book defends the very contentious Idealist interpretation of Hume on external objects, and draws from it far-reaching metaphysical and epistemological consequences for Hume¿s philosophy. Its interest is both interpretive and analytic. The content Hume ascribes to the belief in ¿bodies¿ is susceptible to more than one reading, and has not been systematically considered. Upholding the Idealistic interpretation is interesting in its own right, but also yields several important conclusions about the spatiality of objects, causation, Hume¿s ¿science of man¿ and his epistemology. For instance, it argues that the Idealist reading means that there are no cross-temporal spatial relationships, and that the (more prevalent) Materialist reading takes Hume further away from methodological empiricism than does the Idealist counterpart, and may render his practice less in conformity with his official methodology. The monograph is therefore of great interest to not only academics but also scholars, graduate students and researchers.

Drawing on empirical research with older South Asian migrant women, this book puts forth new understandings on how older, settled, migrant women construct and understand age through recollections of key life course events that are structured around gendered positions. Divesting from a Western-centric view and applying a decolonial and Black feminist lens to ageing, the author presents intersectionality and transnational positionality as useful tools to connect old age, migration and memory in critical studies on aging. Chapters flesh out life course memories at different key stages and examines how the intersections of multiple markers of identity (race, gender, language, immigration status, age, etc.) shape how older South Asian migrant women understand and experience their lives.This book will be of interest to scholars with a focus on Gender Studies, Migration Studies, Ageing Studies, and Mobility Studies.

This comprehensive book reveals the intricate interplay between entrepreneurship, strategy, and marketing management in the context of sustainability. The book champions the green shift within businesses and organizations, equipping both companies and consumers with the knowledge needed to make well-informed decisions that drive positive market transformations. Providing a holistic understanding of sustainable and disruptive change processes for students and professionals, it looks into a spectrum of powerful strategies, ranging from green marketing approaches and segmentation techniques to the nuances of demarketing and green branding. Readers will uncover the critical role of companies and decision-makers in reshaping consumer behavior and supply chains, while navigating potential pitfalls like the "tragedy of the commons" and "greenwashing." Furthermore, they will gain valuable insights into how strategic positioning and targeted efforts can yield sustainable outcomes and increase consumer willingness to invest in environmentally conscious products. Green Marketing and Entrepreneurship allows readers to explore the profound impact of marketing strategies on the delicate balance of nature and discover actionable green marketing methodologies that can pave the way for a more sustainable and environmentally conscious world.

This book presents the concept of cryptcoding which arises from the need to obtain secure and accurate transmission. Therefore, it is necessary to improve constantly existing and develop new algorithms that will ensure accurate and secure data transfer. This leads to the intensive development of coding theory and cryptography as scientific fields which solve these problems. To ensure efficient and secure data transmission at the same time, the concept of cryptcoding is developed such that the coding and encryption processes are merged into one process. Cryptcodes provide correction of a certain number of errors in the transmitted message and data confidentiality, using only one algorithm. The main research in this field is to define new algorithms for coding that detects and corrects errors, random codes, stream ciphers, block ciphers, pseudo-random generators, hash functions, etc. This monograph examines an application of quasigroups for designing error-correcting cryptcodes, called Random Codes Based on Quasigroups (RCBQ ). These codes are a combination of cryptographic algorithms and error-correcting codes and depend on several parameters. Some modifications (new coding/decoding algorithms) of RCBQ for improving their performances for transmission ordinary messages, images, and audio files trough a binary-symmetric channel, Gaussian channel, and burst channels are considered. Also, authors propose and analyze filter for visually enhance of the decoded images and improving the quality of decoded audio files.

Companies focus on both organic and inorganic mechanisms in its pursuit for growth. The growth strategies of companies are determined by the industry sector and target market influence. Successful companies utilize multiple growth strategies like market development, disruption, product and channel expansion, strategic alliances, Mergers and Acquisitions and organic growth stimulus. In the modern world, a firm's success depends on innovation. Fast paced growth for a firm is a function of the extent to which company must learn how to scale up and extend its business, lengthen its expansion phase, accumulate and apply new knowledge to new products and markets faster than competitors. Therefore, there is no 'best strategy'.¿This book discusses and analyses the strategies of growth of the fastest 100 companies as ranked by the Fortune Survey. Each case study focuses on market overview, business segments, SWOT analysis, growth strategy, ESG initiatives, risk factors and mitigation strategy, financial strategy, performance and valuation.

¿This edited volume investigates the Czech response to the European migration crisis of 2015. Focusing on the discourses and practices the book analyses the foreign policy ideas which were guiding the Czech foreign policy in the period from 2014 to 2019. The chapters offer a variety of methodologies (discourse analysis, content analysis, and case study) and perspectives (decision-makers, NGOs, emotions, foreign policy practice, and European partners). All the chapters rely on a common conceptual framework that operationalises foreign policy ideas as ideologies (Atlanticism, Europeanism, Internationalism, and Sovereignism) and roles (Democracy Supporter, Protectee, Faithful Ally, Regional Collaborator, Reformer, and Prosperity Builder). The main benefit of the book consists in using a unique conceptual framework to produce new empirical insights into the Czech foreign policy making. The book will be of particular interest to the students of the Czech politics and it can be also used as a case study in foreign policy-making. It also offers a nuanced perspective on the Central and Eastern Europe decision-making during the EU migration crisis which goes beyond the usual ideological classifications of those countries in the West European public discourse.   Petr Drulák is a Professor at the Department of Politics and International Relations at the Faculty of Arts of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, a senior researcher at the Institute of International Relations in Prague, and a guest professor at the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA). He served as Ambassador of the Czech Republic to France and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He published extensively on Central Europe, national interest, and theory of international relations (e.g., in European Journal of International Relations, Journal of European Public Policy,Geopolitics, Journal of International Relations and Development, and Osteuropa).

It is now widely recognized that the emotional dimension of products and services is a critical success factor in many sectors. Generating products with significant emotional features is a complex challenge, as professionals responsible for designing and developing new products should be able to focus the design effort on eliciting specific emotions. But how do designers prepare themselves to convey emotions through the products they design? How do they know how to provoke certain emotions? To obtain the benefits that the knowledge of emotions can bring when it is integrated into the design process, professionals need to be assisted with approaches to apply the knowledge of emotions systematically and strategically. This book presents the development of a process to support product design teams to envision emotion-focused new product ideas - Emotion-Driven Innovation (E-DI). The E-DI process supports designers in identifying the occurrence of emotions in a certain category of products present in the market and applying this information to make strategic decisions when defining the emotional intentions for the new product. It also helps to focus their creative thinking to develop strong and meaningful emotion-centric new product ideas. This book targets a professional audience wanting to learn more about this process and provides useful tools and frameworks that can be applied in real-life cases.

This book informs students and practitioners of the health professions about workplace bullying and how to recognise it. The health professions have among the highest rates of bullying of any occupational group. This book shines a light on bullying and its very real human consequences for health professionals. Statistics about bullying in health present a disturbing picture. However, they don't convey the human impact on people who only want to do good for others. The author begins by telling how her experiences spurred her to write this book and then introduces the champions, twelve health professionals who contributed their stories. The book starts with the champions' decision to become a health professional, and then describes their bullying experiences, the impact on almost every aspect of their lives and careers, and how they tried to resolve or deal with the bullying. Some were still dealing with bullying, and all felt they had been forever changed by their experiences. The stories show that bullying is much more than the actions of a few, it is deeply embedded in the culture of institutions responsible for providing quality health care. Better preparation for leadership positions and independent processes for reporting unacceptable behaviours and actions are two suggestions for tackling bullying and its consequences. This book shows the necessity to expose these appalling behaviours and their human costs in order to address workplace bullying and create a healthy and safe environment for everyone in healthcare. This volume is aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students, and practitioners of nursing and other health professions, the general public and other stakeholders of health services. It will enhance their understanding of, ability to recognise, and strategies to cope with, workplace bullying.

From a perspective of precision instrumentation, this book provides a guided tour to readers on exploring the inner workings of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Centered around AFM, a broad range of mechatronic system topics are covered including mechanics, sensors, actuators, transmission design, system identification, signal processing, dynamic system modeling, controller. With a solid theoretical foundation, practical examples are provided for AFM subsystem level design on nano-positioning system, cantilever probe, control system and system integration. This book emphasizes novel development of active cantilever probes with embedded transducers, which enables new AFM capabilities for advanced applications. Full design details of a low-cost educational AFM and a Scale Model Interactive Learning Extended Reality (SMILER) toolkit are provided, which helps instructors to make use of this book for curriculum development. This book aims to empower AFM users with deeper understanding of the instrument to extend AFM functionalities for advanced state-of-the-art research studies. Going beyond AFM, materials presented in this book are widely applicable to precision mechatronic system design covered in many upper-level graduate courses in mechanical and electrical engineering to cultivate next generation instrumentalists.

Patients are increasingly accessing their own electronic health record, ushering medical chart notes out of the cloistered purview of clinicians and into the age of transparency. With the recognition that patients are reading what is written about them, there is a need for a comprehensive reference on best practices for writing medical notes in this new era. The Patient-Centered Approach to Medical Note-Writing covers important topics including stigmatizing language, the electronic health record, the different parts of a typical medical note, mental health, substance use, difficult encounters, and how to address electronic communication such as test results and patient messages. This book serves as a vital reference for students, residents, fellows and practicing clinicians.

The history of computer-aided face recognition dates to the 1960s, yet the problem of automatic face recognition ¿ a task that humans perform routinely and effortlessly in our daily lives ¿ still poses great challenges, especially in unconstrained conditions.This highly anticipated new edition provides a comprehensive account of face recognition research and technology, spanning the full range of topics needed for designing operational recognition systems. After a thorough introduction, each subsequent chapter focuses on a specific topic, reviewing background information, up-to-date techniques, and recent results, as well as offering challenges and future directions.Topics and features:Fully updated, revised, and expanded, covering the entire spectrum of concepts, methods, and algorithms for automated detection and recognition systemsProvides comprehensive coverage of face detection, alignment, feature extraction, and recognition technologies, and issues in evaluation, systems, security, and applicationsContains numerous step-by-step algorithmsDescribes a broad range of applications from person verification, surveillance, and security, to entertainmentPresents contributions from an international selection of preeminent expertsIntegrates numerous supporting graphs, tables, charts, and performance dataThis practical and authoritative reference is an essential resource for researchers, professionals and students involved in image processing, computer vision, biometrics, security, Internet, mobile devices, human-computer interface, E-services, computer graphics and animation, and the computer game industry.

"Mastering Corporate Communication" is a comprehensive guide designed to assist communication professionals in navigating the new world of stakeholder capitalism. With the rise of new media, corporate responsibility demands and the constant battle for attention, professionals are faced with an array of challenges. The book offers an overview of relevant theories and techniques to help professionals master the new reality of corporate communication. It provides a rare glimpse into the corporate machine room of a global company, offering valuable insights and inspiration to communication professionals. Leading professors from all around the world share their insights and advice, giving readers an opportunity to develop excellent corporate communication skills. The competitive environment requires a new mindset and a necessary agility, and this guide is the perfect resource to help communication professionals thrive in this ever-evolving landscape. With "Mastering Corporate Communication" students and professionals can find inspiration in effective approaches to communication challenges and ways to develop essential tools and competencies to succeed in their careers.

Conflicts within the owner circle  - or rather, within the "family of the family business"  - are often the main cause of existential crises for family businesses. The damaging effects of unchecked family conflicts affect two social systems: the family business and the business family itself. The impairment of the survival capability of the family business goes hand in hand with the reduced chance of constructive follow-up communication between family members. Once caught up in conflict communication, it is extremely difficult for business families to get out of it without the help of external knowledge. It is therefore surprising that the topic of conflict prevention in business families has so far been given relatively little attention. Against this background, this book takes a closer look at the topic of "Conflicts in the Business Family" and deals with a number of topics that are essential to understanding the subject: the specific challenges and conflicts that business families typically face, as well as practically proven methods of conflict resolution at different levels. The content is based on the experiences that the two authors have gained in a variety of research projects, conflict moderation, and family strategic consulting projects over the past 18 years. The key findings from this wealth of experience are now made available to the general public.

This textbook introduces Python and its programming through a multitude of clearly presented examples and worked-out exercises.Based on a course taught to undergraduate students of mathematics, science, engineering and finance, the book includes chapters on handling data, calculus, solving equations, and graphics, thus covering all of the basic topics in Python. Each section starts with a description of a new topic and some basic examples. The author then demonstrates the new concepts through worked out exercises. The intention is to enable the reader to learn from the codes, thus avoiding lengthy, exhausting explanations. With its strong focus on programming and problem solving, and an emphasis on numerical problems that do not require advanced mathematics, this textbook is also ideal for self-study, for instance for researchers who wish to use Python as a computational tool.

This book offers an easily understood introduction to the core concepts of Virtual Reality, Virtual Environments and related topics of Augmented Reality and Extended Reality. These complex technological concepts are demystified and broken down in 10 lectures, written in an approachable and easy to understand way. If you find yourself enticed and mystified by this new technology, this book can help you make sense of its core concepts and internal workings.