The Applied Artificial Intelligence Workshop. Start working with AI today, to build games, design decision trees, and train your own machine learning models

Anthony So, William So, Zsolt Nagy

You already know that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are present in many of the tools you use in your daily routine. But do you want to be able to create your own AI and ML models and develop your skills in these domains to kickstart your AI career?The Applied Artificial Intelligence Workshop gets you started with applying AI with the help of practical exercises and useful examples, all put together cleverly to help you gain the skills to transform your career.The book begins by teaching you how to predict outcomes using regression. You will then learn how to classify data using techniques such as k-nearest neighbor (KNN) and support vector machine (SVM) classifiers. As you progress, you’ll explore various decision trees by learning how to build a reliable decision tree model that can help your company find cars that clients are likely to buy. The final chapters will introduce you to deep learning and neural networks. Through various activities, such as predicting stock prices and recognizing handwritten digits, you’ll learn how to train and implement convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and recurrent neural networks (RNNs).By the end of this applied AI book, you’ll have learned how to predict outcomes and train neural networks and be able to use various techniques to develop AI and ML models.

The Applied Data Science Workshop. Get started with the applications of data science and techniques to explore and assess data effectively - Second Edition

Alex Galea

From banking and manufacturing through to education and entertainment, using data science for business has revolutionized almost every sector in the modern world. It has an important role to play in everything from app development to network security.Taking an interactive approach to learning the fundamentals, this book is ideal for beginners. You’ll learn all the best practices and techniques for applying data science in the context of real-world scenarios and examples.Starting with an introduction to data science and machine learning, you’ll start by getting to grips with Jupyter functionality and features. You’ll use Python libraries like sci-kit learn, pandas, Matplotlib, and Seaborn to perform data analysis and data preprocessing on real-world datasets from within your own Jupyter environment. Progressing through the chapters, you’ll train classification models using sci-kit learn, and assess model performance using advanced validation techniques. Towards the end, you’ll use Jupyter Notebooks to document your research, build stakeholder reports, and even analyze web performance data.By the end of The Applied Data Science Workshop, you’ll be prepared to progress from being a beginner to taking your skills to the next level by confidently applying data science techniques and tools to real-world projects.

The Applied SQL Data Analytics Workshop. Develop your practical skills and prepare to become a professional data analyst - Second Edition

Matt Goldwasser, Upom Malik, Benjamin Johnston

Every day, businesses operate around the clock and a huge amount of data is generated at a rapid pace. Hidden in this data are key patterns and behaviors that can help you and your business understand your customers at a deep, fundamental level. Are you ready to enter the exciting world of data analytics and unlock these useful insights?Written by a team of expert data scientists who have used their data analytics skills to transform businesses of all shapes and sizes, The Applied SQL Data Analytics Workshop is a great way to get started with data analysis, showing you how to effectively sieve and process information from raw data, even without any prior experience.The book begins by showing you how to form hypotheses and generate descriptive statistics that can provide key insights into your existing data. As you progress, you'll learn how to write SQL queries to aggregate, calculate and combine SQL data from sources outside of your current dataset. You'll also discover how to work with different data types, like JSON. By exploring advanced techniques, such as geospatial analysis and text analysis, you'll finally be able to understand your business at a deeper level. Finally, the book lets you in on the secret to getting information faster and more effectively by using advanced techniques like profiling and automation.By the end of The Applied SQL Data Analytics Workshop, you'll have the skills you need to start identifying patterns and unlocking insights in your own data. You will be capable of looking and assessing data with the critical eye of a skilled data analyst.

The Applied TensorFlow and Keras Workshop. Develop your practical skills by working through a real-world project and build your own Bitcoin price prediction tracker

Harveen Singh Chadha, Luis Capelo

Machine learning gives computers the ability to learn like humans. It is becoming increasingly transformational to businesses in many forms, and a key skill to learn to prepare for the future digital economy.As a beginner, you’ll unlock a world of opportunities by learning the techniques you need to contribute to the domains of machine learning, deep learning, and modern data analysis using the latest cutting-edge tools.The Applied TensorFlow and Keras Workshop begins by showing you how neural networks work. After you’ve understood the basics, you will train a few networks by altering their hyperparameters. To build on your skills, you’ll learn how to select the most appropriate model to solve the problem in hand. While tackling advanced concepts, you’ll discover how to assemble a deep learning system by bringing together all the essential elements necessary for building a basic deep learning system - data, model, and prediction. Finally, you’ll explore ways to evaluate the performance of your model, and improve it using techniques such as model evaluation and hyperparameter optimization.By the end of this book, you'll have learned how to build a Bitcoin app that predicts future prices, and be able to build your own models for other projects.

The Architecture of the European Financial Market: Legal Foundations

Anna Jurkowska-Zeidler

European Union financial legislation has evolved from liberalization and deregulation to the harmonization of law, uniform rulebooks and supervisory practices, the establishment of new regulatory agencies, and the federalization of financial market law. In response to the global financial crisis, fundamental changes have been made at the European level to the legal framework of single financial market regulation and supervision. The new regulatory and supervisory developments transfer more powers to the EU and enhance the process of the federalization of financial market law. This alters the paradigm in the functioning of the financial safety net. In which there is significant strengthening of the positions of the new regulatory and supervisory authorities, chich are given binding powers in the sphere of law In action, thus ensuring the effectiveness of norms established at the European level. Within the framework of a systemic approach to the EU financial market, this book Illustrates the steps taken towards the Integration of the legal and Institutional structures of the financial safety net. The core content of this book addresses the legal foundations of the new supervisory and regulatory architecture that were introduced In European directives and regulations in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

The Argonauts of North Liberty

Bret Harte

What starts out as a tale of peaceful domesticity takes a sudden turn when the protagonists are lured from Connecticut to California by the promise of striking it rich. This fascinating novella from American author Bret Harte is an engaging, easy read that will please fans of historical fiction or tales of the Old West. First published in 1888, it keeps the reader engrossed with its fast-paced narrative and surprising twists and turns in the plot. Francis Bret Harte was a prolific American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California. The spirit of Dickens breathes through the poems and stories of Bret Harte just as the spirit of Bret Harte breathes through the poems and stories of Kipling.

The Arrow of Gold. A Story Between Two Notes

Joseph Conrad

Events unfolding in Marseille. George secretly gets the forbidden goods, and this makes money. He falls in love with Rita da Lastiola, a young woman with a certain wealth and mystery that supports the work of Karlist and inherited the fortune from a rich man who took her for a mistress. She is of peasant origin, and her motives and feelings are the subject of endless debate.

The Art of Crafting User Stories. Unleash creativity and collaboration to deliver high-value products with a delightful user experience

Christopher Lee

The Art of Crafting User Stories is a must-read for product managers, UX professionals, and product developers dedicated to creating meaningful digital experiences. This book provides a comprehensive, step-by-step approach to empower you to master the techniques for creating user stories that drive effective product development.This book takes you on a journey from identifying and capturing user needs, goals, and perspectives through user stories, to crafting impactful stories for design choices and organizing tasks efficiently. You’ll learn how to define the problem area, recognize user personas, and develop user scenarios with the aid of real-world examples, practical tips, and exercises designed to help you develop your skills in crafting user-centered experiences. Moreover, you’ll gain a thorough understanding of user stories, their role in Agile development, and how to use them to plan and manage products effectively.By the end of this book, you’ll be able to improve the quality and efficiency of your own products by applying the hands-on practical skills to create compelling digital experiences that resonate with users and stay relevant in the market.

The Art of CRM. Proven strategies for modern customer relationship management

Max Fatouretchi

CRM systems have delivered huge value to organizations. This book shares proven and cutting-edge techniques to increase the power of CRM even further.In The Art of CRM, Max Fatouretchi shares his decades of experience building successful CRM systems that make a real difference to business performance.Through clear processes, actionable advice, and informative case studies, The Art of CRM teaches you to design successful CRM systems for your clients.Fatouretchi, founder of Academy4CRM institute, draws on his experience over 20 years and 200 CRM implementations worldwide.Bringing CRM bang up to date, The Art of CRM shows how to add AI and machine learning, ensure compliance with GDPR, and choose between on-premise, cloud, and hybrid hosting solutions.If you’re looking for an expert guide to real-world CRM implementations, this book is for you.

The Art of Data-Driven Business. Transform your organization into a data-driven one with the power of Python machine learning

Alan Bernardo Palacio

One of the most valuable contributions of data science is toward helping businesses make the right decisions. Understanding this complicated confluence of two disparate worlds, as well as a fiercely competitive market, calls for all the guidance you can get.The Art of Data-Driven Business is your invaluable guide to gaining a business-driven perspective, as well as leveraging the power of machine learning (ML) to guide decision-making in your business. This book provides a common ground of discussion for several profiles within a company.You’ll begin by looking at how to use Python and its many libraries for machine learning. Experienced data scientists may want to skip this short introduction, but you’ll soon get to the meat of the book and explore the many and varied ways ML with Python can be applied to the domain of business decisions through real-world business problems that you can tackle by yourself. As you advance, you’ll gain practical insights into the value that ML can provide to your business, as well as the technical ability to apply a wide variety of tried-and-tested ML methods.By the end of this Python book, you’ll have learned the value of basing your business decisions on data-driven methodologies and have developed the Python skills needed to apply what you’ve learned in the real world.

The Art of Manufacturing. Overcome control challenges for increasing efficiency in manufacturing using real-world examples

Ninad Deshpande, Sivaram Pothukuchi

Engineering disciplines focus mainly on programming control systems, while the challenges they overcome or their industry applications largely go uncovered, leaving a huge gap between the theory and industry practices. This leads to engineers learning about subjects without actually understanding their purpose and entering the industry needing months of training.The Art of Manufacturing cuts across pedantic theory and reaches practical applications. You’ll begin your learning journey by starting from the product and moving backward to the manufacturing landscape, factories, machines, and finally to the automation and control challenges faced in manufacturing. The book builds on the authors’ valuable on-field experience, providing a detailed view of the manufacturing of real-world products, while simultaneously providing various analogies and references to daily tasks. As you advance through the chapters, you’ll work on interesting control problems and find out how to overcome them in applications. The concluding chapters offer you a sneak peek into the future of automation and factories.By the end of this book, you’ll be able to relate a real-world product with an associated control challenge and discover ways to overcome these challenges.

The Art of Micro Frontends. Build highly scalable, distributed web applications with multiple teams - Second Edition

Florian Rappl, Lothar Schöttner

The organizational pattern of micro frontends allows you to split web applications into multiple parts, where each part can be owned by an autonomous team. Each team can have its own development and deployment life cycle, allowing every part of an application to be shipped in isolation. Following the strategies outlined in this book, you can avoid complexity while increasing resilience for your frontend. This updated second edition will guide you through the patterns available to implement a micro frontend solution. You’ll learn about micro frontends, the different architecture styles, and their areas of use. Then, you’ll learn how to prepare teams for the change to micro frontends, as well as how to adjust the user interface (UI) design and your CSS styles for scalability. Starting with the simplest variants of micro frontend architectures, the book progresses from static approaches to fully dynamic solutions that allow maximum scalability with faster release cycles. In the concluding chapters, you’ll strengthen the security level of your micro frontend solution, while reinforcing your overall knowledge with real-world case studies relating to micro frontends. By the end of this book, you’ll be able to decide whether and how micro frontends should be implemented to achieve high scalability for your web app.

The Art of Micro Frontends. Build websites using compositional UIs that grow naturally as your application scales

Florian Rappl, Lothar Schöttner

Micro frontend is a web architecture for frontend development borrowed from the idea of microservices in software development, where each module of the frontend is developed and shipped in isolation to avoid complexity and a single point of failure for your frontend.Complete with hands-on tutorials, projects, and self-assessment questions, this easy-to-follow guide will take you through the patterns available for implementing a micro frontend solution. You’ll learn about micro frontends in general, the different architecture styles and their areas of use, how to prepare teams for the change to micro frontends, as well as how to adjust the UI design for scalability. Starting with the simplest variants of micro frontend architectures, the book progresses from static approaches to fully dynamic solutions that allow maximum scalability with faster release cycles. In the concluding chapters, you'll reinforce the knowledge you’ve gained by working on different case studies relating to micro frontends.By the end of this book, you'll be able to decide if and how micro frontends should be implemented to achieve scalability for your user interface (UI).

The Art of Modern PHP 8. Learn how to write modern, performant, and enterprise-ready code with the latest PHP features and practices

Joseph Edmonds, Lorna Jane Mitchell

PHP has come a long way since its introduction. While the language has evolved with PHP 8, there are still a lot of websites running on a version of PHP that is no longer supported. If you are a PHP developer working with legacy PHP systems and want to discover the tenants of modern PHP, this is the book for you.The Art of Modern PHP 8 walks you through the latest PHP features and language concepts. The book helps you upgrade your knowledge of PHP programming and practices. Starting with object-oriented programming (OOP) in PHP and related language features, you'll work through modern programming techniques such as inheritance, understand how it contrasts with composition, and finally look at more advanced language features. You'll learn about the MVC pattern by developing your own MVC system and advance to understanding what a DI container does by building a toy DI container. The book gives you an overview of Composer and how to use it to create reusable PHP packages. You’ll also find techniques for deploying these packages to package libraries for other developers to explore.By the end of this PHP book, you'll have equipped yourself with modern server-side programming techniques using the latest versions of PHP.

The Art of Social Engineering. Uncover the secrets behind the human dynamics in cybersecurity

Cesar Bravo, Desilda Toska, Rhonda Childress

Social engineering is one of the most prevalent methods used by attackers to steal data and resources from individuals, companies, and even government entities. This book serves as a comprehensive guide to understanding social engineering attacks and how to protect against them.The Art of Social Engineering starts by giving you an overview of the current cyber threat landscape, explaining the psychological techniques involved in social engineering attacks, and then takes you through examples to demonstrate how to identify those attacks.You’ll learn the most intriguing psychological principles exploited by attackers, including influence, manipulation, rapport, persuasion, and empathy, and gain insights into how attackers leverage technology to enhance their attacks using fake logins, email impersonation, fake updates, and executing attacks through social media. This book will equip you with the skills to develop your own defensive strategy, including awareness campaigns, phishing campaigns, cybersecurity training, and a variety of tools and techniques.By the end of this social engineering book, you’ll be proficient in identifying cyberattacks and safeguarding against the ever-growing threat of social engineering with your defensive arsenal.

The Art of Writing Efficient Programs. An advanced programmer's guide to efficient hardware utilization and compiler optimizations using C++ examples

Fedor G. Pikus

The great free lunch of performance taking care of itself is over. Until recently, programs got faster by themselves as CPUs were upgraded, but that doesn't happen anymore. The clock frequency of new processors has almost peaked, and while new architectures provide small improvements to existing programs, this only helps slightly. To write efficient software, you now have to know how to program by making good use of the available computing resources, and this book will teach you how to do that.The Art of Efficient Programming covers all the major aspects of writing efficient programs, such as using CPU resources and memory efficiently, avoiding unnecessary computations, measuring performance, and how to put concurrency and multithreading to good use. You'll also learn about compiler optimizations and how to use the programming language (C++) more efficiently. Finally, you'll understand how design decisions impact performance.By the end of this book, you'll not only have enough knowledge of processors and compilers to write efficient programs, but you'll also be able to understand which techniques to use and what to measure while improving performance. At its core, this book is about learning how to learn.

The Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Workshop. Build your own highly scalable and robust data storage systems that can support a variety of cutting-edge AI applications

Chinmay Arankalle, Gareth Dwyer, Bas Geerdink, Kunal Gera, ...

Social networking sites see an average of 350 million uploads daily - a quantity impossible for humans to scan and analyze. Only AI can do this job at the required speed, and to leverage an AI application at its full potential, you need an efficient and scalable data storage pipeline. The Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Workshop will teach you how to build and manage one.The Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Workshop begins taking you through some real-world applications of AI. You’ll explore the layers of a data lake and get to grips with security, scalability, and maintainability. With the help of hands-on exercises, you’ll learn how to define the requirements for AI applications in your organization. This AI book will show you how to select a database for your system and run common queries on databases such as MySQL, MongoDB, and Cassandra. You’ll also design your own AI trading system to get a feel of the pipeline-based architecture. As you learn to implement a deep Q-learning algorithm to play the CartPole game, you’ll gain hands-on experience with PyTorch. Finally, you’ll explore ways to run machine learning models in production as part of an AI application.By the end of the book, you’ll have learned how to build and deploy your own AI software at scale, using various tools, API frameworks, and serialization methods.

The Aspern Papers

Henry James

The Aspern Papers is one of the masterpieces of the writers small prose, the plots of which are based on the collision of European and American cultural consciousness, the point of view of an individual and social stereotypes, the book perception of the world and individual experience. The tragicomic search by the hapless biographer of the lost letters of the great poet is the conflict of this story.

The Aspiring CIO and CISO. A career guide to developing leadership skills, knowledge, experience, and behavior

David J. Gee, Darryl West

Explore the intricacies of CIO and CISO roles with The Aspiring CIO and CISO by David Gee. This book leverages Gee's 20+ years of digital and cyber leadership experience, providing real-world insights, making it a valuable resource for those navigating the evolving landscape of the C-suite.Tailored to entry-level, mid-level, and senior managers looking to advance to the C-suite, this book serves a unique purpose in the realm of career guidance. The narrative speaks directly to individuals uncertain about their readiness for CIO or CISO roles, offering a personal mentorship experience that goes beyond technicalities. Armed with insights into crafting a powerful 90-day plan, you'll be well-equipped to catapult into CIO or CISO roles successfully. Beyond technical proficiency, the book instills survival skills, ensuring longevity and helping you prevent burnout in these pivotal positions. Additionally, by mastering the art of brand development and soft skills, you'll grasp the interpersonal dynamics crucial for executive leadership. This book is an indispensable guide for ambitious professionals, offering foresight and empowerment to thrive in the digital age.By the end of this book, you'll emerge with strategic dexterity, confidently steering your career trajectory towards the C-suite.

The Atom of the Universe. The Life and Work of Georges Lemaître

Dominique Lambert

This book takes us from the early childhood to the last days of George Lemaîitre, the man behind the theory of the primeval atom, now better known as Big Bang theory. But who was George Lemaître? A clergyman, a genius astronomer, an audacious cosmologist, a computer enthusiast ahead of his time, a professor with his head in the clouds, a bon vivant mathematician and gourmand? Dominique Lambert's book peels away these layers, chapter by chapter, from the adventures of a boy from Charleroi (Belgium) who became Monseigneur Lemaître as well as his impact on contemporary cosmology. The reader will follow Lemaitre’s works through the course of his life, discovering along the way his involvement with the Chinese student community, his complex relationship with the Vatican, his deep devotion to the University of Louvain, his friendship with figures such as Einstein and Eddington, his adventures through the two World Wars, his travels in America, his curious interest in Molière and his deep faith lived through the ‘Amis de Jésus’. The resulting picture is of a remarkable figure who was sensitive, creative, meticulous and, paradoxically, both discreet and exuberant while also being a man of exceptional integrity who reconciled his science with his faith. More than a book on one person, this biography of Lemaître offers the key to a better understanding of the profound changes which took place in the fields of science, faith and academic life in the last century. Preface by P.J.E. PeeblesThis book takes us from the early childhood to the last days of George Lemaîitre, the man behind the theory of the primeval atom, now better known as Big Bang theory. But who was George Lemaître? A clergyman, a genius astronomer, an audacious cosmologist, a computer enthusiast ahead of his time, a professor with his head in the clouds, a bon vivant mathematician and gourmand? Dominique Lambert's book peels away these layers, chapter by chapter, from the adventures of a boy from Charleroi (Belgium) who became Monseigneur Lemaître as well as his impact on contemporary cosmology. The reader will follow Lemaitre’s works through the course of his life, discovering along the way his involvement with the Chinese student community, his complex relationship with the Vatican, his deep devotion to the University of Louvain, his friendship with figures such as Einstein and Eddington, his adventures through the two World Wars, his travels in America, his curious interest in Molière and his deep faith lived through the ‘Amis de Jésus’. The resulting picture is of a remarkable figure who was sensitive, creative, meticulous and, paradoxically, both discreet and exuberant while also being a man of exceptional integrity who reconciled his science with his faith. More than a book on one person, this biography of Lemaître offers the key to a better understanding of the profound changes which took place in the fields of science, faith and academic life in the last century. Preface by P.J.E. Peebles

The Auction Block

Rex Beach

Lorelei Knights parents want to get rich on her beauty. They send her to New York to be on a girl show. Bob Wharton, the dissolute son of a millionaire, falls in love with a girl. When Lorelei finds out her father is ill and needs money, she marries Bob even though she doesnt love him. Bobs father cuts his allowance and Bob is forced to go to work.

The Author of Beltraffio

Henry James

In this story, a mother allows her only child, a seven-year-old boy, to die of diphtheria only so that he will never be subjected to the corrupting influence of the books written by his father, which she deeply condemns. Anyone who imagines motherly love and at least once saw the torment of a child restlessly darting in his crib, fighting for every breath, would never have invented such a monstrous story. The French call it litterature. By this word they denote works created on the basis of a cheap literary effect, devoid of any likelihood.

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

For all value investors and Charlie Munger enthusiasts, don't miss out on "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin." This book was a favorite of Munger's, and it's packed with practical wisdom. Franklin's life story teaches us about frugality, hard work, and building good habits-essential principles for success in both life and investing. Munger, a rational thinker himself, drew inspiration from Franklin's genius. Dive into this classic autobiography for timeless insights that align perfectly with the core principles of value investing and Munger's practical philosophy.

The Autocracy of Mr Parham

Herbert George Wells

Mr. Parham is a university academic of the traditional, classical sort, very much a snob and unhappy with many of the social trends of the time. Sir Bussy Woodcock is a self-made millionaire of sharp intelligence and great energy but lowly beginnings and no cultural education. This unlikely pair meet by chance and form an intermittent relationship. In an attempt to foster this acquaintance that goes on for six years, Mr. Parham finds himself involved in séances that summon a Master Spirit from the beyond. This entity occupies Mr. Parhams body, and commences to inspire a political movement (the League of Duty Paramount) that overthrows the British government in a coup détat. This is an intriguing tale which Wells uses to explore opposing social and political views of the period, with the fantasy element a vehicle for so doing. On the way, he creates a couple of memorable characters.