Scott Stevens - Böcker

This volume reflects emerging research on the meaning of multimedia information, as presented during IFIP's Eighth "Data Semantics Working Conference" (DS-8), organized by its Working Group 2.6 on databases, and held at Rotorua, New Zealand, in January 1999. DS-8 was planned as an active forum for researchers and practitioners focusing on those issues that involve the semantics of the information represented, stored, and manipulated by multimedia systems. Depending on the topic and state of research, issues may be covered either deeply theoretically or quite practically, or even both. These proceedings contain 21 papers carefully selected by an International Programme Committee and organized in six thematic areas: video data modelling and use; image databases; applications of multimedia systems; multimedia modelling in general; multimedia information retrieval; and semantics and metadata.For almost every area, important topics and issues include data modelling and query languages for media such as audio, video, and images; methodological aspects of multimedia database design; intelligent multimedia information retrieval; knowledge discovery and data mining in multimedia information; and multimedia user interfaces. Three keynote addresses, by famous experts Ramesh Jain, Hermann Maurer and Masao Sakauchi, set the stage for discussion and future directions for the field.

The technical ability to generate volumes of digital multimedia data is becoming increasingly "mainstream" in today's electronic world. Online services create volumes of primarily textual information, such as news reports, product reviews, and e-mail chronicles. Advances in digital video technology have given organizations the capability to amass visual records and produce collections of surveillance monitoring data streams. With this ability to generate and archive volumes of data comes the potential of deriving or recalling information and knowledge from these data histories. To effectively utilize the growing number of multimedia data repositories, there is a convergence in technologies from large-scale data management, semantic-oriented media (text, image, and video) understanding, and multi-source trend analysis. This convergence is not straightforward and introduces a significant challenge in construction solutions that offer scalable deployment with semantically rich quality.The Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) and its member companies carried out a study in 1997 to investigate the state of the art in technologies for annotating and manipulating large-scale networks of multimedia information objects with content-based concepts. This book documents the study's technology assessment and identifies shortcomings where further research and integration of technologies are needed to meet anticipated application requirements. The major points highlighted in this book can be used as cornerstones for defining advanced research and development directions, and opportunities to exploit the content available in networks of large-scale multi-media sources. Based on the results of the study, MCC initiated the Content-Based Access to Multimedia (CBAM) Information project to investigate semantically-oriented access to large-scale image and video repositories. The project focuses on concept extraction, annotation, and collection principles applied in and across large-scale image and video repositories.It demonstrates proof-of-concept environments where multimedia objects acquire semantic content annotations and become elements exploited in distributed information-gathering applications.

In the past five years, the field of electrostatic discharge (ESD) control has under­ gone some notable changes. Industry standards have multiplied, though not all of these, in our view, are realistic and meaningful. Increasing importance has been ascribed to the Charged Device Model (CDM) versus the Human Body Model (HBM) as a cause of device damage and, presumably, premature (latent) failure. Packaging materials have significantly evolved. Air ionization techniques have improved, and usage has grown. Finally, and importantly, the government has ceased imposing MIL-STD-1686 on all new contracts, leaving companies on their own to formulate an ESD-control policy and write implementing documents. All these changes are dealt with in five new chapters and ten new reprinted papers added to this revised edition of ESD from A to Z. Also, the original chapters have been augmented with new material such as more troubleshooting examples in Chapter 8 and a 20-question multiple-choice test for certifying operators in Chapter 9. More than ever, the book seeks to provide advice, guidance, and practical ex­ amples, not just a jumble of facts and generalizations. For instance, the added tailored versions of the model specifications for ESD-safe handling and packaging are actually in use at medium-sized corporations and could serve as patterns for many readers.

Database Semantics: Semantic Issues in Multimedia Systems reflects the state of the art of emerging research on the meaning of multimedia information, as presented during IFIP's Eighth Data Semantics Working Conference (DS-8), organized by its Working Group 2.6 on Databases, and held at Rotorua, New Zealand, in January 1999. DS-8 was planned as an active forum for researchers and practitioners focusing on those issues that involve the semantics of the information represented, stored, and manipulated by multimedia systems. Depending on the topic and state of research, issues may be covered either deeply theoretically or quite practically, or even both. These proceedings contain twenty-one papers carefully selected by an International Programme Committee and organized in six thematic areas: Video Data Modelling and Use; Image Databases; Applications of Multimedia Systems; Multimedia Modeling in General; Multimedia Information Retrieval; Semantics and Metadata. For almost every area, important topics and issues include: data modeling and query languages for media such as audio, video, and images; methodological aspects of multimedia database design; intelligent multimedia information retrieval; knowledge discovery and data mining in multimedia information; multimedia user interfaces. Three visionary keynote addresses, by famous experts Ramesh Jain, Hermann Maurer and Masao Sakauchi, set the stage for discussion and future directions for the field. The collection of papers that resulted now offers a glimpse of the excitement and enthusiasm from DS-8. Database Semantics: Semantic Issues in Multimedia Systems is suitable as a secondary text for a graduate-level course on database systems, multimedia systems, or information retrieval systems and as a reference for practitioners and researchers in industry.