An examination of the artistic development of Robert Rauschenberg, focusing on his relationship with John Cage and his role in the making of the American neo-avant-garde.

In this fascinating book, mathematician Ed Beltrami takes a close enough look at randomness to make it mysteriously disappear. The results of coin tosses, it turns out, are determined from the start, and only our incomplete knowledge makes them look random. "Random" sequences of numbers are more elusive, but Godels undecidability theorem informs us that we will never know. Those familiar with quantum indeterminacy assert that order is an illusion, and that the world is fundamentally random. Yet randomness is also an illusion. Perhaps order and randomness, like waves and particles, are only two sides of the same (tossed) coin.

This volume contains the invited papers presented at the 14th British Combinatorial Conference, held at the University of Keele in July 1993.

We use software every day to perform all kinds of magical, powerful tasks. It's the force behind stunning CGI graphics, safe online shopping, and speedy Google searches. Software drives the modern world, but its inner workings remain a mystery to many. How Software Works explains how computers perform common-yet-amazing tasks that we take for granted every day. Inside you'll learn: –How data is encrypted –How passwords are used and protected –How computer graphics are created –How video is compressed for streaming and storage –How data is searched (and found) in huge databases –How programs can work together on the same problem without conflict –How data travels over the Internet How Software Works breaks down these processes with patient explanations and intuitive diagrams so that anyone can understand—no technical background is required, and you won't be reading through any code. In plain English, you'll examine the intricate logic behind the technologies you constantly use but never understood. If you've ever wondered what really goes on behind your computer screen, How Software Works will give you fascinating look into the software all around you.

Property Testing is the study of super-fast (randomized) algorithms for approximate decision making. These algorithms are given direct access to items of a huge data set, and determine, whether this data set has some predetermined (global) property or is far from having this property. Remarkably, this approximate decision is made by accessing a small portion of the data set. This state-of-the-art survey presents a collection of extended abstracts and surveys of leading researchers in property testing and related areas; it reflects the program of a mini-workshop on property testing that took place in January 2010 at the Institute for Computer Science (ITCS), Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. The volume contains two editor's introductions, 10 survey papers and 18 extended abstracts.

For many applications a randomized algorithm is either the simplest algorithm available, or the fastest, or both. This tutorial presents the basic concepts in the design and analysis of randomized algorithms. The first part of the book presents tools from probability theory and probabilistic analysis that are recurrent in algorithmic applications. Algorithmic examples are given to illustrate the use of each tool in a concrete setting. In the second part of the book, each of the seven chapters focuses on one important area of application of randomized algorithms: data structures; geometric algorithms; graph algorithms; number theory; enumeration; parallel algorithms; and on-line algorithms. A comprehensive and representative selection of the algorithms in these areas is also given. This book should prove invaluable as a reference for researchers and professional programmers, as well as for students.

Since the publication of "Theory of Games and Economic Behavior" by von Neumann and Morgenstern, the concept of games has played an increasing role in economics. It also plays a role of growing importance in other sciences, including biology, political science, and psychology. Many scientists have made seminal advances and continue to be leaders in the field, including Harsanyi, Shapley, Shubik, and Selten. Professor Robert Aumann, in addition to his important contributions to game theory and economics, made a number of significant contributions to mathematics. This volume provides a collection of essays in mathematical economics and game theory, including cutting-edge research on noncooperative game theory and its foundations, bargaining theory, and general equilibrium theory. Also included is a reprint of Aumann's classic paper, "Acceptable Points in General Cooperative n-Person Games" and of the oft-cited, yet hard to find, paper by Maschler, "The Worth of a Cooperative Enterprise to Each Member". This book illustrates the wide range of applications of mathematics to economics, game theory, and social choice. The volume is dedicated to Professor Robert J. Aumann, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel, for his contributions in mathematics and social sciences.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th Italian Conference on Algorithms and Computation, CIAC 2003, held in Rome, Italy in May 2003.The 23 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 57 submissions. Among the topics addressed are complexity, complexity theory, geometric computing, matching, online algorithms, combinatorial optimization, computational graph theory, approximation algorithms, network algorithms, routing, and scheduling.

* Full analysis of performance characteristics of the .NET Framework, including actual benchmark results * Information on the internals of the .NET Framework and exposure to the various elements that make up the .NET Framework * Description of tools and techniques for identifying performance problems developers may encounter * References to sources of further information on various performance topics * Written by a Microsoft MVP in a technically unique style and of the highest quality