This book is about objective image quality assessment—where the aim is to provide computational models that can automatically predict perceptual image quality. The early years of the 21st century have witnessed a tremendous growth in the use of digital images as a means for representing and communicating information. A considerable percentage of this literature is devoted to methods for improving the appearance of images, or for maintaining the appearance of images that are processed. Nevertheless, the quality of digital images, processed or otherwise, is rarely perfect. Images are subject to distortions during acquisition, compression, transmission, processing, and reproduction. To maintain, control, and enhance the quality of images, it is important for image acquisition, management, communication, and processing systems to be able to identify and quantify image quality degradations. The goals of this book are as follows; a) to introduce the fundamentals of image quality assessment, and to explain the relevant engineering problems, b) to give a broad treatment of the current state-of-the-art in image quality assessment, by describing leading algorithms that address these engineering problems, and c) to provide new directions for future research, by introducing recent models and paradigms that significantly differ from those used in the past. The book is written to be accessible to university students curious about the state-of-the-art of image quality assessment, expert industrial R&D engineers seeking to implement image/video quality assessment systems for specific applications, and academic theorists interested in developing new algorithms for image quality assessment or using existing algorithms to design or optimize other image processing applications.
The topic of image quality assessment has been around for more than four decades. But the last five years have seen a sudden acceleration in progress and interest in the area. This has corresponded with a rapid rise in interest in digital imaging in general, driven by technological advances and by the ubiquity of digital images and videos on the Internet. Modern Image Quality Assessment has three expressed goals: . Introduce the fundamentals of image quality assessment, and to explain the relevant engineering problems . Provide a broad treatment of the current state-of-the-art in image quality assessment by describing leading algorithms that address engineering problems under different assumptions . Provide new directions for future research, by introducing recent models and paradigms that significantly differ from those used in the past The book is intended for a wide readership. It will be accessible to university students curious about the state-of-the-art of image quality assessment, expert industrial R&D engineers seeking to implement image/video quality assessment systems for specific applications, and academic theorists interested in developing new algorithms for image quality assessment or using existing algorithms to design or optimize other image processing applications.
"Playing computer video games can be just what you need to get a job." Could such a statement ever be true? Computer games, software, and networking technologies are often viewed as threats to the social, emotional, and physical well being and development of children. However, such beliefs are often unfounded.
This new collection of research presents a range of research on topics from the impact of ultra-violent video games on children and youth who participate in entertainment violence, to the benefits these technologies have to offer. Video games, computers, and the Internet can provide opportunities for problem solving, creativity, and autonomy, and in particular, carefully constructed software can offer an alternative to traditional classroom learning.
Children's Learning in a Digital World is one of the first books to examine the impact of computers in both formal or school learning environments and informal learning contexts. It presents exciting and challenging new ideas from international scholars on the impact of computers, the Internet, and video games on children's learning, as well as the social and cultural issues that affect technology use.
About the Author
Teena Willoughby is Professor of Child and Youth Studies at Brock University, and Director of their Research Institute for Youth Studies. She is the winner of Brock's Research Award for 2003-5, and of the Book of the Year Award for Shaffer, Wood, & Willoughby; Developmental Psychology: Childhood and Adolescence, First Canadian Edition (2002).
Eileen Wood is Professor in the Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University. She is winner of the Book of the Year Award for Shaffer, Wood, & Willoughby; Developmental psychology: Childhood and Adolescence, First Canadian Edition (2002) and for The World Of Psychology (Third Canadian Edition).
In this book, you'll:
- Learn the Blend 2 and Visual Studio 2008 development environments
- Create designs using Blend 2's unique tools
- Use XAML and C# to add interactivity to your designs
- Publish your Rich Media Applications to the Web using Silverlight
The only real tool available for creating Rich Media Applications, web-based animations, and games has been Flash‚ until now! WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) and Silverlight have opened the door of Rich Media Application development to Microsoft .NET developers. With Microsoft's new Blend 2 and Visual Studio 2008, you can now create compelling Rich Media Applications complete with animations and even 3D! This book shows you how to take full advantage of Blend's new interface, together with and Silverlight's vastly improved designer-developer workflow, guiding you through every step of development from downloading and installing of the development environment through creating finished, functional projects. You'll learn how to create simple drawing applications with the InkCanvas, make tabbed and scrollable interfaces, as well as build fully featured media players, photo galleries, and interactive 3D designs. Each chapter discusses major WPF and Silverlight features, provides a hands-on tutorial, and explains how that feature is implemented in the real world. In the end, you will have a collection of impressive WPF and Silverlight applications that can be added to your portfolio. Whether you're an experienced .NET or web developer, or you're just starting out, this book will provide you with all you need to create Rich Media Applications with Expression Blend 2.
About the Author
Victor Gaudioso is a senior applications engineer for REZN8 Productions, Inc. in Hollywood, CA. Victor was a former Flash/ActionScript Engineer for an advertising agency and worked on sites for large entertainment companies such as Disney, Universal, Mattel and Warner Bros. Victor still writes tutorials and articles on Flash development for actionscript.org where he is a moderator. Currently Victor is developing WPF/Blend and Silverlight applications for clients such as Harra's and Electric Red.
