Understanding the basics of speech coding is necessary for the design of various modern devices that rely on speech interfaces such as cell phones and PDAs. Offering a detailed yet easily accessible introduction to the field, Principles of Speech Coding provides an in-depth examination of the underlying signal processing techniques that are used in speech coding. The authors present speech coding standards from various organizations, including the ITU. With a focus on applications such as Voice-over-IP telephony, this comprehensive text demonstrates the practical implementation of a popular standardized speech coder on a DSP processor and covers the most recent research findings.
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Digital Signal Processing
Telecommunications
Computer Graphics & Visualization
Textbook
Undergraduate

Reflecting the developments in gas turbine combustion technology that have occurred in the last decade, this third edition of a bestseller provides an up-to-date design manual and research reference on the design, manufacture, and operation of gas turbine combustors in applications ranging from aeronautical to power generation. Self-contained and only requiring a moderate amount of prior knowledge of physics and chemistry, the book covers aircraft engines and industrial gas turbines used in power generation. This edition discusses recent emissions regulations, explores how pollutants can be reduced, and includes a new chapter on alternative fuels and emissions.
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Aerospace Engineering
Combustion Engineering
Thermodynamics
Reference
Professional

While Dynamic Programming (DP) has helped solve control problems involving dynamic systems, its value was limited by algorithms that lacked practical scale-up capacity. In recent years, developments in Reinforcement Learning (RL), DP's model-free counterpart, has changed this. Focusing on continuous-variable problems, this unparalleled work provides an introduction to classical RL and DP, followed by a presentation of current methods in RL and DP with approximation. Combining algorithm development with theoretical guarantees, it offers illustrative examples that readers will be able to adapt to their own work.
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Intelligent Systems
Systems & Controls
Machine Learning
Reference

Illustrating a wide range of practical applications, GIS in Hospital and Healthcare Emergency Management explains how hospitals and healthcare facilities can improve their emergency management and disaster preparedness through the use of GIS. The text aims to raise the level of understanding of the role of GIS in emergency management planning among hospital healthcare emergency managers, risk managers, decision-makers, and regulating and accrediting organizations. The author covers spatial aspects of planning, preparedness, response, and recovery. A CD-ROM with color images, useful forms, exercises, and additional resources is also included.
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Agriculture & Environmental Sciences
Health & Safety
Critical Security
Reference

For managers to truly excel into a position of leadership they must increase efficiency and develop the soft skills necessary to inspire people to do more with less. Providing a series of practical and tested lessons, this book offers a clear, coherent, and effective way of tactfully directing project managers. Written by a highly successful author, it gives real world examples, survey materials including a high performing team questionnaire, and exercises in conflict resolution, conflict continuum, and team effectiveness. It also provides a website with downloadable documents and a podcast to continually reinforce the material.
• Industrial Innovation
Production Systems
Engineering Project Management
Reference

This book details one of the most innovative concepts in space flight: tethered space systems. These involve connecting satellites in orbit around Earth using thin cables called tethers. There are a number of interesting applications for this concept, such as energy production from the interaction between the system and the magnetic field of the Earth, momentum transfer for a satellite, microgravity laboratories, and the space elevator. The text presents several models, focusing on the simplest but most important system, which consists of two satellites in orbit around the Earth. The authors derive equations of motion and describe methods of analysis.
• Advances in Engineering Series
Aerospace Engineering
Instrumentation, Measurement & Testing
Reference

Filled with practical examples, this book presents a self-contained discussion of quasilinear hyperbolic equations and systems with applications. It emphasizes nonlinear theory and introduces some of the most active research in the field. The author elucidates all necessary mathematical concepts in the first three chapters, including an introduction to general wave propagation problems. He highlights the application of various approaches, such as singular surface theory, asymptotic methods, and self-similarity, to solve practical physical problems from areas, including gasdynamics, radiation gasdynamics, magnetogasdynamics, nonequilibrium flows, and shallow water theory.
• Monographs and Surveys in Pure and Applied Math
Mathematics & Statistics for Engineers
Fluid Dynamics
Plasmas & Fluids
Reference

A guidebook through the minefield of government contracting and procurement, this book describes the dangerous practices commonly applied in the development and management of government contracts and provides advice for avoiding the sort of errors that might compromise their ability to protect the public interest. It includes strategies for increasing profits for government contractors, rather than incurring burdensome costs, through compliance with government mandated subcontracting and financial management systems. The book provides practical processes and strategies to diminish negative impacts from government contracting perils.
• ASPA Series in Public Administration and Public Policy
Public Administration & Management
Public Finance
Reference
Professional

With more than 1300 figures, line drawings, and photographs, Atlas of Immunology clearly demonstrates that a picture is worth a thousand words. Each entry in this third edition has been revised to reflect recent advances in scientific knowledge based on current research. A new chapter, Immunophenotyping of Hematopoietic Malignancies, has been added and the History of Immunology chapter has been expanded, detailing pivotal research developments. The contents of the book range from photographs of field pioneers to illustrations of molecular structures of recently characterized cytokines, major histocompatibility complex molecules, immunoglobins, and molecules of related interest.
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Immunology
Microbiology
Allergology & Clinical Immunology
Reference
Professional

Now with color photographs and illustrations throughout, this third edition of a bestseller continues to provide a wealth of information on the entire ecosystem of the Everglades. With an emphasis on natural history, the text is unified around themes of biogeography and ecosystem functions of the plant and animal communities. It presents current and historical geology, discussions of human impacts, ecosystem degradation, planned restoration, and socioeconomic aspects of the Everglades ecosystem. It includes more than 30 maps of historical and ecological importance.
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Water Engineering
Marine & Aquatic Science
Biodiversity
Textbook
Undergraduate