An introduction to the mathematical theory of multistage decision processes, this text takes a "functional equation" approach to the discovery of optimum policies. The text examines existence and uniqueness theorems, the optimal inventory equation, bottleneck problems in multistage production processes, a new formalism in the calculus of variation, multistage games, and more

Whether you are an entry-level or seasoned designer or programmer, learn all about data structures in this easy-to-understand, self-teaching guide that can be directly applied to any programming language.

This handbook shows how to write faster and more robust stored procedures and functions, learn effective, real-world solutions to problems faced by database developers, designers, and administrators, and master topics such as optimizing and debugging.

Homicide was the third leading cause of occupational injury death in the U.S. for the period from 1980 through 1985, accounting for nearly 13% of the nation's total deaths from trauma in the workplace. Homicide was the manner of death for 12% if the men and 42% of the women who died from injuries sustained in U.S. workplaces during the 6-year period for which data were available at the time of the workshop.

Few languages are riddled with as many spelling inconsistencies and irregularities as English. Why is there such dissonance between the sounds of English and the spelling used to represent them? The answer lies in the history of the language itself. The History of English Spelling reveals the rich and complex history of Modern English spelling, tracing its origins and development from Old English up to the present day. The book provides a highly detailed, letter-by-letter analysis of the Old English basis of Modern English spelling, followed by in-depth coverage of the contributions from French, Latin, Greek, and the many other languages that have contributed to current orthography. Upward and Davidson also explore events in the socio-political history of England as an explanatory setting for developments in spelling, along with the works of a number of lexicographers (especially Johnson and Webster), and various proposals for spelling reform. The History of English Spelling reveals the richness of the complex and often frustrating alphabetic spelling system used in the English language.

I would like to thank Gordon Wardlaw for reading and giving feedback on every chapter, and Elizabeth Joseph for a great deal of assistance with the reference aspects of the book preparation. I would also like to thank Emily Dy for help with references in the chapter on iron. In addition, I appreciate the help of ach of the following for comments on individual subjects: Michael Bergeron, Priscilla Clarkson, Steve Abrams, Connie Weaver, Greg Miller, and Greg Wiet. I also appreciate my wife, Janet, and children, David, Daniel, and Lisa, for allowing me the enormous amount of time it took to complete this writing. Finally, I want to express great appreciation to Stacey Bell for having the original concept for the book and helping me get it off the ground. I endeavored to present the issues in this book as honestly as I could, without trying to make any product supplier look better or worse than reality dictated. Even so, I do want to note the companies that have supported parts of my own mineral research: Albion Laboratories, Nutrition21, Glanbia, and Purac of America.