Best of
Information-Science

2010

Networks, Crowds, and Markets


David Easley - 2010
    This connectedness is found in many incarnations: in the rapid growth of the Internet, in the ease with which global communication takes place, and in the ability of news and information as well as epidemics and financial crises to spread with surprising speed and intensity. These are phenomena that involve networks, incentives, and the aggregate behavior of groups of people; they are based on the links that connect us and the ways in which our decisions can have subtle consequences for others. This introductory undergraduate textbook takes an interdisciplinary look at economics, sociology, computing and information science, and applied mathematics to understand networks and behavior. It describes the emerging field of study that is growing at the interface of these areas, addressing fundamental questions about how the social, economic, and technological worlds are connected.

Excel Dashboards & Reports


Michael Alexander - 2010
    Offering a comprehensive review of a wide array of technical and analytical concepts, Excel Reports and Dashboards helps Excel users go from reporting data with simple tables full of dull numbers, to presenting key information through the use of high-impact, meaningful reports and dashboards that will wow management both visually and substantively.Details how to analyze large amounts of data and report the results in a meaningful, eye-catching visualization Describes how to use different perspectives to achieve better visibility into data, as well as how to slice data into various views on the fly Shows how to automate redundant reporting and analyses Part technical manual, part analytical guidebook, Excel Dashboards and Reports is the latest addition to the Mr. Spreadsheet's Bookshelf series and is the leading resource for learning to create dashboard reports in an easy-to-use format that's both visually attractive and effective.

Critical Library Instruction: Theories and Methods


Maria T. Accardi - 2010
    Chapters address critical approaches to standards and assessment practices, links between queer, anti-racist and feminist pedagogies and the library classroom, intersections of critical theories of power and knowledge and the library, and the promise and peril of reflective instruction practices. Rooted in theoretical work both from within the profession (James Elmborg, Cushla Kapitzke) and without (Paolo Freire, Henry Giroux, Deborah Britzman), contributions are complemented by stories of critical approaches put into practice in institutional settings ranging from the community college classroom to large urban research universities to virtual worlds. The intention is to begin a conversation among librarians who teach, library instruction program coordinators, faculty and instructors interested in bringing librarians into the classroom, and librarians interested in developing liberatory and anti-oppressive professional practices.

Recommender Systems Handbook


Francesco Ricci - 2010
    It covers the key concepts in recommender systems and includes real-world applications and detailed case studies.

Data-Intensive Text Processing with Mapreduce


Jimmy Lin - 2010
    Processing the enormous quantities of data necessary for these advances requires large clusters, making distributed computing paradigms more crucial than ever. MapReduce is a programming model for expressing distributed computations on massive datasets and an execution framework for large-scale data processing on clusters of commodity servers. The programming model provides an easy-to-understand abstraction for designing scalable algorithms, while the execution framework transparently handles many system-level details, ranging from scheduling to synchronization to fault tolerance. This book focuses on MapReduce algorithm design, with an emphasis on text processing algorithms common in natural language processing, information retrieval, and machine learning. We introduce the notion of MapReduce design patterns, which represent general reusable solutions to commonly occurring problems across a variety of problem domains. This book not only intends to help the reader "think in MapReduce," but also discusses limitations of the programming model as well. Table of Contents: Introduction / MapReduce Basics / MapReduce Algorithm Design / Inverted Indexing for Text Retrieval / Graph Algorithms / EM Algorithms for Text Processing / Closing Remarks

Serving LGBTIQ Library and Archives Users: Essays on Outreach, Service, Collections and Access


Ellen Greenblatt - 2010
    Many chapters include personal accounts of individuals' experiences to illustrate the importance of library services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer/questioning users. Specific topics include: library services provided to LGBTIQ youth; collection assessment and the process of gauging user satisfaction; the classification of LGBTIQ resources in the Dewey Decimal Classification system; attempts to restrict access to LGBTIQ resources through challenges, censorship, and Internet filtering; and workplace concerns of LGBTIQ library workers. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

OpenGL SuperBible: Comprehensive Tutorial and Reference


S Wright Jr Richard S Wright Jr - 2010
    The best all-around introduction to OpenGL for developers at all levels of experience, it clearly explains both the API and essential associated programming concepts. Readers will find up-to-date, hands-on guidance on all facets of modern OpenGL development, including transformations, texture mapping, shaders, advanced buffers, geometry management, and much more. Fully revised to reflect ARB's latest official specification (3.3), this edition also contains a new start-to-finish tutorial on OpenGL for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Coverage includes A practical introduction to the essentials of real-time 3D graphics Core OpenGL 3.3 techniques for rendering, transformations, and texturing Writing your own shaders, with examples to get you started Cross-platform OpenGL: Windows (including Windows 7), Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, UNIX, and embedded systems OpenGL programming for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad: step-by-step guidance and complete example programs Advanced buffer techniques, including full-definition rendering with floating point buffers and textures Fragment operations: controlling the end of the graphics pipeline Advanced shader usage and geometry management A fully updated API reference, now based on the official ARB (Core) OpenGL 3.3 manual pages New bonus materials and sample code on a companion Web site, www.starstonesoftware.com/OpenGL "Part of the OpenGL Technical Library--The official knowledge resource for OpenGL developers" The OpenGL Technical Library provides tutorial and reference books for OpenGL. The Library enables programmers to gain a practical understanding of OpenGL and shows them how to unlock its full potential. Originally developed by SGI, the Library continues to evolve under the auspices of the OpenGL Architecture Review Board (ARB) Steering Group (now part of the Khronos Group), an industry consortium responsible for guiding the evolution of OpenGL and related technologies.