Computer technology has impacted the practice of medicine in dramatic ways. Imaging techniques provide noninvasive tools which alter the diag nostic process. Sophisticated monitoring equipment presents new levels of detail for both patient management and research. In most of these high technology applications, the computer is embedded in the device; its presence is transparent to the user. There is also a growing number of applications in which the health care provider directly interacts with a computer. In many cases, these appli cations are limited to administrative functions, e.g., office practice man agement, location of hospital patients, appointments, and scheduling. Nevertheless, there also are instances of patient care functions such as results reporting, decision support, surveillance, and reminders. This series, Computers and Medicine, will focus upon the direct use of information systems as it relates to the medical community. After twenty-five years of experimentation and experience, there are many tested applications which can be implemented economically using the current generation of computers. Moreover, the falling cost of computers suggests that there will be even more extensive use in the near future. Yet there is a gap between current practice and the state-of-the-art.

In bringing together this book, the editors have kept two goals in mind. Firstly, the goal of educating the reader by giving an insight into the wealth of computing and mathematical techniques now being used to build decision support systems. Secondly, of aiming to stimulate the imagination by including an eclectic mix of contributions from a wide range of business areas to demonstrate that there is no field in which modern decision support techniques cannot usefully be applied. The quintessence of decision support systems is that they are designed to assist people in establishing the best course of action in a given situation but not to automate or tell them prescriptively how to achieve a goal.

Presenting business problems in a case format, this text asks students to make good business decisions based on statistical information. The authors ask the student to evaluate realistic business situations and apply statistical reasoning to solve problems.

This book will be bought by researchers and graduates students in Artificial Intelligence and management as well as practising managers and consultants interested in the application of IT and information systems in real business environment.

As effective organizational decision making is a major factor in a company's success, a comprehensive account of current available research on the core concepts of the decision support agenda is in high demand by academicians and professionals. Through 110 authoritative contributions by over 160 of the world's leading experts the Encyclopedia of Decision Making and Decision Support Technologies presents a critical mass of research on the most up-to-date research on human and computer support of managerial decision making, including discussion on support of operational, tactical, and strategic decisions, human vs. computer system support structure, individual and group decision making, and multi-criteria decision making.

Decision support systems (DSS) are widely touted for their effectiveness in aiding decision making, particularly across a wide and diverse range of industries including healthcare, business, and engineering applications. The concepts, principles, and theories of enhanced decision making are essential points of research as well as the exact methods, tools, and technologies being implemented in these industries. From both a standpoint of DSS interfaces, namely the design and development of these technologies, along with the implementations, including experiences and utilization of these tools, one can get a better sense of how exactly DSS has changed the face of decision making and management in multi-industry applications. Furthermore, the evaluation of the impact of these technologies is essential in moving forward in the future. The Research Anthology on Decision Support Systems and Decision Management in Healthcare, Business, and Engineering explores how decision support systems have been developed and implemented across diverse industries through perspectives on the technology, the utilizations of these tools, and from a decision management standpoint. The chapters will cover not only the interfaces, implementations, and functionality of these tools, but also the overall impacts they have had on the specific industries mentioned. This book also evaluates the effectiveness along with benefits and challenges of using DSS as well as the outlook for the future. This book is ideal for decision makers, IT consultants and specialists, software developers, design professionals, academicians, policymakers, researchers, professionals, and students interested in how DSS is being used in different industries.

It is vital that today’s engineers work with computer-based tools and techniques. However, programming courses do not provide engineering students with the skills that are necessary to succeed in their professional career. Here, the authors propose a novel, practical approach that encompasses knowledge assimilation, decision-making capabilities and technical agility, together with concepts in computer-aided engineering that are independent of hardware and software technologies. This book: Outlines general concepts such as fundamental logic, definition of engineering tasks and computational complexity Covers numerous representation frameworks and reasoning strategies such as databases, objects, constraints, knowledge systems, search and optimisation, scientific computation and machine learning Features visualization and distribution of engineering information Presents a range of IT topics that are relevant to all branches of engineering Offers many practical engineering examples and exercises Fundamentals of Computer Aided Engineering provides support for all students involved in computer-aided engineering courses in civil, mechanical, chemical and environmental engineering. This book is also a useful reference for researchers, practising engineers using CAE and educators who wish to increase their knowledge of fundamental concepts.

The aim of this book is to present the latest applications, trends, and developments of computer-aided technologies (CAx). Computer-aided technologies are the core of product lifecycle management (PLM) and human lifecycle management (HUM). This book has seven chapters, organized in two sections: "Computer-Aided Technologies in Engineering" and "Computer-Aided Technologies in Medicine." The first section treats the different aspects of PLM, including design, simulations and analysis, manufacturing, production planning, and quality assurance. In the second part of the book are presented CAx applications in medicine focused on clinical decision, diagnosis, and biosensor design. CAx plays a key role in a variety of engineering and medical applications, bringing a lot of benefits in product life cycle, extending and improving human life.