A collection of true-to-life essays which offer the reader various ways to view the socio-cultural state of the modern world as seen through the eyes of the author - a somewhat cynical but ethical Japanese professor. Through journeys in various cultures, these stories break numerous stereotypes, from the failure of higher education in Japan to the mysteries of using various types of toilets in Mediterranean Europe. The author narrates brief encounters with all aspects of society, from radical students to conservative academicians, from old-style street merchants to modern business people,...

Presents articles on advanced topics in language architectures and programming environments, written by distinctive leaders in their respective research fields.

This work covers areas including: artificial intelligence and database systems; natural language database queries processing; intelligent query guidance systems; imprecise queries analysis; handling of users' misconceptions; direct answer and co-operative response; and knowledge acquisition.